The Evolution of the Football Helmet

Both amateur and professionals American and Canadian football players wear protective headwear known as helmets in order to lessen the risk of injury. This helmet has evolved over the years, and has taken the form of a number of different materials.

These days, we’re used to seeing the football helmet while sat around watching NFL or CFL action, eating nachos and ready to place a prop bet or two. But it wasn’t always that way. The man who is believed to have invented the football helmet was football and baseball player George Barclay. He designed a harness for the head in 1896. It featured three leather straps that formed a close fit around a player’s head.

Other sources, however, credit Joseph M. Reeves for inventing the football helmet. Reeves used mole skin to develop a protection divide for his head that enabled him to continue playing football after a doctor told him he should no longer play.

A familiar sight

It wasn’t until 1915, however, when they began to take on an appearance more in line with what we’re used to seeing today. More flats and padding were added, with ear holes to provide improved communication on the fields.

We first started to see team logos when Los Angeles Rams halfback Fred Gehrke painted a horn on the helmets of each of his teammates. Gehrke had been an art student at the University of Utah.

Another development came likely in 1917, with suspension. A fabric pattern formed inside the helmet. They better absorbed the impact, and also allowed for ventilation. Spalding and Rawlings were among its first manufacturers.

Riddel’s first helmet

In 1940, John T. Riddell and son of the John T. Riddell Company invented the first plastic football helmet. The stronger, lighter, and more durable shell didn’t rot in the way that leather does in the rain. That same year, Riddell developed the very first chin strap that rested on the chin, as opposed to the neck, along with the first plastic face mask. Unfortunately, these helmets proved to be ineffective when hit head-on. Furthermore, the bar hole designed for the face had a tendency to pop loose. As a result, both Riddell and its plastic helmet invention were in trouble.

In 1955, a Riddell consultant, G.E. Morgan, developed a face mask with a single bar. A year later, a radio was installed inside the helmet of Cleveland Browns quarterback George Ratterman. While it was outlawed for causing game time interference during the preseason, it was reintroduced in 1994, almost four decades later.

The AirTm

Dr. Richard Schneider is believed to have thought air to be the best way to defend against brute

force. Drawing on that theory, he developed an inflatable bladder to be used inside a helmet. NCAA team the Michigan Wolverines agreed to use a prototype. To give the design more validity, Schutt Sports began to mass-produce the “AirTm Helmet”.

Many older players preferred the Riddell TK-2, as it was more breathable and generally lighter. Interior helmet pads were later developed that didn’t need to be filled with fluid or air by both the Riddell and Schutt companies. They were later preferred by every position due to safety.

In 2002, Riddell launched a helmet called the Revolution. The helmet, which is also known as Revo, was given a more spherical design. Today, it’s the most commonly-worn helmet in the NFL by quarterbacks and every other position.. Riddell has since launched the Ridell Speed helmet. Other popular helmets used in football today include The Vicis Pro V1t, The Schutt F7, and the Riddell Speedflex Helmet.