A history and tradition more
than 100 years old.
The leather football helmet has it’s origin more than100 years
ago first worn in an 1893 Army-Navy game. An Annapolis shoemaker
created the first helmet for Admiral Joseph Mason Reeves,
who had been advised by a Navy doctor that he
would be risking death or “instant insanity” if he took another
kick to the head. Later in 1896 Lafayette College halfback
George Barclay so feared the fabled cauliflower ear on his
“hearing organs”, which he felt was a direct cause of playing
bare-headed, that he had a playing hat made. His design was
a special headgear which was held to his head by three heavy
leather straps fashioned by a harness maker, thus giving the
first football helmets the nomenclature “head-harness”. The
Golden Era - The helmet as we know it today has undergone
many changes in its 100 years. Helmets were not mandatory
until the 30’s. Most of the 1890--1915 games were actually
played without helmets. It was not unusual to see half of
the early players with helmets and half without. Around World
War I the helmets were so flimsy that they were often mistaken
for aviator caps. Year by year more padding was added and
from the 1920’s thru 1940’s, considered the Golden Age of
college, pro and high school football — helmets, like the
ones we are offering here, always were strictly of leather
construction. Flying wing, colors and targets - Another interesting
fact was that nearly all of the games in this era were played
in unadorned helmets —school logos colors and mascots were
rarely used. As the great rivalries grew colleges and high
schools began to hand-paint their helmets. The idea was that
the simple colors, in the first days of the forward pass,
allowed receivers to finally be distinguishable to the quarterback
when they were heavily covered and far down the field. Not
until 1948 was the first logo, the Rams horns, painted on
a pro leather helmet. Soon after, practically every college,
pro and high school team put their logos and mascots on their
helmets. But the great old leather helmet was spared much
of this “clutter” as it’s days faded into history before 1950.
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would be risking death or “instant insanity” if he took another
kick to the head. Later in 1896 Lafayette College halfback
George Barclay so feared the fabled cauliflower ear on his
“hearing organs”, which he felt was a direct cause of playing
bare-headed, that he had a playing hat made. His design was
a special headgear which was held to his head by three heavy
leather straps fashioned by a harness maker, thus giving the
first football helmets the nomenclature “head-harness”. The
Golden Era - The helmet as we know it today has undergone
many changes in its 100 years. Helmets were not mandatory
until the 30’s. Most of the 1890--1915 games were actually
played without helmets. It was not unusual to see half of
the early players with helmets and half without. Around World
War I the helmets were so flimsy that they were often mistaken
for aviator caps. Year by year more padding was added and
from the 1920’s thru 1940’s, considered the Golden Age of
college, pro and high school football — helmets, like the
ones we are offering here, always were strictly of leather
construction. Flying wing, colors and targets - Another interesting
fact was that nearly all of the games in this era were played
in unadorned helmets —school logos colors and mascots were
rarely used. As the great rivalries grew colleges and high
schools began to hand-paint their helmets. The idea was that
the simple colors, in the first days of the forward pass,
allowed receivers to finally be distinguishable to the quarterback
when they were heavily covered and far down the field. Not
until 1948 was the first logo, the Rams horns, painted on
a pro leather helmet. Soon after, practically every college,
pro and high school team put their logos and mascots on their
helmets. But the great old leather helmet was spared much
of this “clutter” as it’s days faded into history before 1950.
