The Evolution of the Football Helmet

The evolution of the football helmet over the past century has greatly improved in design and safety rating, making the football helmet what it is today. The helmet is one of the most important parts of a football uniform. Wearing a football helmet significantly reduces the risk of a serious head injury and can save a player's life. However, the football helmet has not always been very safe.

Soft leather helmets

The first helmets worn in the early 1900s were called head harnesses. They were made of soft leather and designed to cover the ears. The first head harnesses greatly hindered communication because they completely covered the ears. Between 1915 and 1917 helmets were made to completely cover the skull, with holes in the ear-flaps making it easier to hear.

Hard leather helmets

During the 1920s and 1930s, helmets were made from hard leather, had fabric cushioning and moved from being flat-top shaped to tear-drop shaped. The change in shape and the move from soft to hard leather with fabric cushioning offered greater protection and more suspension.

Plastic helmets

The first plastic football helmet was introduced in 1939 by the John T. Riddell Company of Chicago. In 1940, Riddell added a plastic face mask, and moved the strap from the Adam's apple to the chin. The shortage of quality plastics during World War II resulted in poorly made helmets that were soon banned by the NFL. After lobbying and refinements were made to the types of materials used to construct helmets, plastic helmets were reinstated in 1949, and became the official helmet of the NFL soon after.

The Riddell Revolution helmet

In 2002, Riddell designed the Riddell Revolution helmet to reduce the incidence of concussion. Not long after the Riddell Revolution was developed, Schultt Sports Group designed a similar helmet. Studies show that the concussion rate of players wearing the Riddle Revolution dropped from 7.6 percent to 5.3 percent.

The designers of early football helmets would be amazed by today's tech-savvy designs. Modern NFL helmets now have small wireless speakers near each ear, so the coach can stay in the player's head the entire game.