The Evolution of Football Helmets

this video is brought to you by bomb fell this is the 1883 Navy football team a notable team in the history of football because of this man right here Joseph M Reeves after a physically brutal season Reeves doctor told him that one more hard hit to the head could possibly lead to what he referred to as instant insanity or even death determined to play in the traditional rivalry game against army Greaves went to a local shoemaker and had him fashion a moleskin hat with earflaps and that's what would become the first helmet in football history it wasn't much but it was revolutionary for its time so revolutionary that Reeves took the design back with him to the Navy after graduating in because of him similar helmets were worn by pilots and paratroopers in World War 1 in the early 1900s soft leather helmets were introduced as optional headgear for players but many prefer to play without the helmets because of its leather material which made it really hot and the ear flaps which made it difficult to hear the plays in 1917 they rectified these problems with fizz eh also known as the Zeki helmet named after Illinois coach Bob Zemke who came up with this design that consisted of air holes for ventilation holes in the ear flaps and straps of fabric lining in the helmet that helped absorb and distribute impacts this soft leather material was replaced in 1920 with hardened leather creating the iconic look affectionately referred to as leather heads in 1939 high school football coach John T Rydell introduced the first plastic helmet in the following few years an attached chin strap was added to the helmets along with an improved suspension lining that allowed for a more comfortable fit after seeing these Redell helmets worn by the Green Bay Packers General George S Patton contracted Redell and licensed the technology the army was redesigning the World War One era m1917 helmet because it was uncomfortable and offered inadequate protection so Redell suspension system was implemented into the m1 helmet which were utilized by soldiers in World War two during World War two to demand for plastics rose overseas and so it became scarce in America that made the manufacturing of rodell's plastic helmets difficult faulty mixes during manufacturing caused many helmets to break into pieces on contact these were quickly banned by the NFL until the issue was eventually fixed by 1943 helmets were made mandatory across the league but these helmets were uniformly drab and boring with a muted brown color that made it difficult to differentiate between the competing teams but in 1948 los angeles rams halfback fred Gerke an art major while in college had the idea of painting a design directly onto the helmet he took a helmet home with him and spent the entire night meticulously painting his own design which consisted of gold horns on a blue helmet coach Bob Snyder and owner Dan Reeves loved the design and commissioned Gerke to paint the design onto the helmet of every single player at $1 apiece at the beginning of the 1948 season when the Rams players first emerge from the tunnels of the LA Coliseum donning these decorated helmets they were met with thunderous applause and a standing ovation that lasted for over five minutes these helmets were offering protection for the players head and ears but they weren't offering any protection for the players face in 1955 Cleveland Browns quarterback Otto Graham took a vicious hit to the face requiring 15 stitches across his mouth during halftime of the game coach Paul Brown worked with the equipment manager to quickly come up with a makeshift device made of clear plastic that would offer protection to Graham's mouth so he could finish the game these lucite masks helped but they would become brittle in cold weather and would sometimes shatter on impact coach Paul Brown went to Redell at the end of the 1953 season and described a revised facemask concept to their Technical Consultant give me something that will fit across the front of the helmet and will be about as big as my little finger with tensile strength I want it so it can withstand a straight foot or deliberately thrown fist or elbow and take away the inclination to punch someone but keep it light enough to weigh less than one ounce Brunel came up with a single gray bar made of rubber and plastic called the BT v facemask all Cleveland players were required to wear the bar by the coach and other teams quickly followed suit the following year in 1956 electronic salesmen George Sarris and GE engineer John Campbell approached the Cleveland coach with a radical idea they explained how they could improve the communication and hurry up the speed of calling plays by placing a transistor radio inside the quarterbacks helmet this will allow the coach to deliver plays directly to the quarterback as opposed to substituting players onto the field in order to deliver the next play to the huddle coach Brown loved the idea and immediately tested the device in an exhibition game when the news of this invention caught on throughout the league other teams scrambled to devise their own none of which was as effective as Sarles campbell's cleveland was able to use the radio system for only three games before NFL Commissioner Bert Bell outlawed the use of the device throughout the 1960s and 70s thicker foam padding was added to the lining of the helmets in an array of complex facemask designs were made available to the players with the first full face mask appearing in 1975 and by the 1980s the football helmet had become a complex highly sophisticated piece of engineering equipment in 1995 almost 40 years after Sarles & Campbell's cutting-edge idea radio transmitters were finally allowed in the helmet of the quarterback which allowed for better communication in 2004 the classic single bar facemask introduced in the 1950s was banned by the NFL though kickers who wore previously were grandfathered in the single bar made its final appearance in 2007 by Cleveland punter Scott player protection has always been the driving force behind helmet innovation but as scientific data of football players continues to pour out linking concussions to the degenerative brain disease CTE the need for better protection and safety is greater than ever it's become a scientific arms race between the three largest football helmet manufacturers Radel shoot and Zenith as they constantly seek new ways to improve and enhance their helmets for player safety they're lighting helmets with newer material like TPU or thermoplastic urethane for better shock absorption helmets are also lined with chalk data loggers and shock detectors which monitors the direction in the force of impacts the problem with these detectors is that they simply monitor concussions after they've already happened instead of helping to prevent them in 2017 the seattle-based sports technology company physis introduced a new helmet that they hoped would reduce player concussions before they happen devices helmet morphs or yields upon impact like the bumper of a car with reflexive technology the helmet can absorb linear forces but more importantly it can also absorb rotational forces which are more prone to caused concussions in 2018 the NFL and NFL PA released their annual helmet laboratory performance reviews which already have Isis as the one and number two rated helmet for safety much more will need to happen in the evolution of football helmets in order to keep players safe and to keep the game of football alive but these technological advances are steps in the right direction football helmets have certainly come a long way since Reeves and his moleskin hat this video is brought to you by bomb fell the personalized clothing service for men instead of fighting crowds at malls or trekking across town to multiple stores in order to find the right clothes for you bomb fell allows you to easily shop right from your computer or phone just fill out a 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Channel: Entertain The Elk

Views: 2,559,797

Keywords: The Evolution of Football Helmets, Entertain The Elk, The Day Died, American Football, NFL, ESPN, Highlights, Top Plays, Football Highlights, ESPN Top Ten, NFL Network, Monday Night Football, Sunday Night Football, Dallas Cowboys, NFL Mock Draft, NFL Top Plays, NFL Week, College Football, College Football Highlights, Leatherheads, History of NFL, Science of NFL, Science of Helmets, Super Bowl, Super Bowl Highlights, Super Bowl Commercials, Concussion, CTE

Id: WYYiqx6legw

Length: 8min 4sec (484 seconds)

Published: Tue Sep 25 2018