Antiques: Football helmets across the decades
Autumn is nearly upon us along with its usual accompaniments: shorter days, changing leaves, back-to-school, and, oh yes, football.
TVs will be working day and night on the weekends while the grass goes un-mowed and empty beer cans pile up. Overpriced jerseys will come out of closets as guys hunker down in their team colors to endure yet another losing season. Fortunately, galleries like ours are here to provide distraction, but even we can't resist plugging a collection of original game-worn football helmets that chimes with the season. Let's take a look at how these odd bits of headwear came about.
Interestingly enough, football has been ruining weekends for longer than you might think. The game purportedly dates back to the early 19th century when a young public schooler in England named W. W. Ellis decided to run with a ball instead of kick it. What a good idea!
Ball games of various sorts were hardly new, but as the century progressed rules began to originate around two main variations: rugby football and association football. By century's end, a third version had evolved that became known as American football. This game was pioneered by Yale coach Walter Camp, who introduced many of the elements that remain part of the sport today.
Football games among college teams were among the first to take hold, making public figures out of such now-legendary names as Amos Alonzo Stagg, Knute Rockne and Glenn "Pop" Warner. The inaugural game, a rough-and-tumble affair, took place in 1869 between Rutgers University and the College of New Jersey (now better known as Princeton). It took seven more years, but in 1876, the first set of rules were laid out by representatives of the (then) four Ivy League schools.
Many other landmarks soon followed: the first radio broadcast of a college game (1921), the first Heisman Trophy to be awarded (1935) and the first set of published rankings (1939). Today, well, just turn on your TV.
As for the pro game, that got its start in 1892 with the first paid players to hit the gridiron. It was club play back then, but two years later, the clubs organized themselves into what became the National Football League and stupendous growth has followed since. It appears that the football helmet began at the college level as little more than a leather head covering.
As time progressed, they became somewhat sturdier, but did not become required wearing until 1943. A few years earlier, J.T. Riddell — a name you still see on helmets — had introduced a plastic helmet that appeared to provide superior protection but shortages during WWII resulted in faulty plastic that caused his helmets to break apart. That problem was quickly fixed and by war's end plastic helmets were the norm.
From then to now, advances such as the face mask, increased padding, and radio transmitters have added to the helmet's utility, but the game remains undeniably hazardous. Nonetheless, the NFL rulebook is surprisingly silent as to what makes a safe helmet and provides specifics only as to the type of face mask and chin strap required. Most teams have their own requirements, however, and much testing is underway these days to improve player safety. You only have to examine the relatively sparse padding in vintage helmets to appreciate the need. Still, game-worn helmets are popular with both fans and collectors, and they always look great in the man-cave.
P.S. Is there anyone out there with Morgan dollars to sell? We are in need of some. And Happy Labor Day!
Mike Rivkin and his wife, Linda, are longtime residents of Rancho Mirage. For many years, he was an award-winning catalogue publisher and has authored seven books, along with countless articles. Now, he's the owner of Antique Galleries of Palm Springs. His antiques column appears Sundays in The Desert Sun. Want to send Mike a question about antiques? Drop him a line at info@silverfishpress.com
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Antiques: Football helmets across the decades
