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The First Football Helmet
-Originated by George "Rose" Barclay
-Few strips of leather
-Harness padding
-Introduced the idea of head protection to the game of football -
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The Evolution of the Football Helmet
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Soft Leather Style
-Considered the first official type of helmet used by football players
-Referenced as the "Soft Dog Ear" leather football helmet
-Stitched and sewn heavy-saddle quality leather
-Design model differed much from its previous counterpart -
Hard Leather Style
-First developed and worn by the Chicago Bears
-Made of a tougher, denser leather
-More interior padding added
-Rounder outer shell
-Constructed the idea that the better the material, the better the protection -
First Plastic Helmet
-Developed by John T. Riddell
-Material was more durable, lighter, and didn't rot like leather did
-Featured additional inner padding
-Players now had a harder outer layer and a soft inner layer -
The First Chin Strap
-Riddell invented a mechanism that rest on the chin instead of the neck
-Meant to keep the helmet from shifting on top of the head
-Increased the helmets overall performance, protection, stability, and comfort -
Single Bar Face Mask
-A Brown's coach developed the model BT-5 helmet
-Intended to protect players' faces from harm such as flying limbs
-Semi-effective but needed adjustments to reach its high potential -
Air Bladders Inside Helmets
-Riddell Inc. added advanced air bladders inside the helmet to soften impact
-Used vinyl cushions that were attached to every space of the helmet
-Those cushions would be pumped with air to fit comfortably around players' heads
-Reduced the number of concussions and overall head injuries of players
-Still used in today's helmets -
Full Face Masks
-Full face mask was much more effective than the single bar
-Featured a double bar with a vertical line going down the center
-Helped prevent many possible face injuries
-Set the base model for modern day face masks -
Polycarbonate Helmets
-Polycarbonate is much lighter and more durable than plastic helmets
-Strong polymer practically designed to take bigger hits
-So effective, it's still used to create modern day football helmets -
Impact Indicator Chinstrap
-Battle Sports Science could measure the force of a hit to a player's helmet
-Measured by a chip in the chinstrap that is able to detect whether the player has a concussion or not
-One of the many examples of new technological advancements still being incorporated into the football helmet -
Conclusion
-Football helmets have evolved in order to keep players safe from head injuries
-Started with a few leather flaps and developed into a full polycarbonate helmet, equipped with an adjustable microchip chinstrap and a full protective face mask
-Likely we'll see more technological advances in the future to keep players even more safe
