One of the probable reasons why helmets are popular football collectible items is because of the rich and colorful history they have gone through. A look into this interesting history will give us an idea on how helmets were born, how they evolved and how they developed into more effective protective gear.

The first helmets were introduced in the early 1900s. However, they were called “head harnesses” during that time and they were made of soft leather that dominantly covered the ears and not the head. One disadvantage of this kind of helmet is that it hampered effective communication.

Because of this, helmet makers decided to make the necessary changes and adjustments. Between 1915 and 1917, the first flat-top caps that offered full protection of the skull and holes in the earflaps were developed. These helmets were still made of soft leather.

It was in the 1920s and 1930s when helmet makers started using harder leathers as material for the head protective gear. From its original flat-top shape, the helmet gradually evolved into a teardrop shape that enabled an impact of a hit to slide to one side instead of being absorbed by the head.

The year 1939 paved the way for the birth of the modern helmet when the John T. Riddell Company of Chicago first introduced their first plastic football helmet, which had a strap that was held around the Adam’s apple. Because it is made of durable plastic, this helmet is stronger and sturdier than the older leather helmets. In 1940, Riddell added a face mask, also made in plastic and moved the strap to the chin, thus creating the first chinstrap.

The success of the modern helmet did not happen overnight. In fact, it experienced a wide range of problems and challenges along the way before it became the helmet that we know of today. One of these obstacles includes being banned from the NFL during a time in the World War II.

This happened because plastics were scarce during this time and because of this, the early models were not well manufactured. There were many instances when the helmets of the football players split or got broken during the game.

The makers from the Riddell Company quickly made changes to improve the construction of the plastic helmet. After serious lobbying from Coach George Halas of the Chicago Bears, these helmets were brought back in the NFL in 1949 and after that, these became the official NFL helmets.

It was also around this time when Fred Gehrke, a players from the Rams team, painted his team logo on his helmet. This gave helmet makers the idea of designing the plastic helmets with the logo of different teams.

Even though the plastic helmet that time gave protection to the head of the players, this did not stop helmet makers from continually seeking ways on how to innovate and improve the quality of protection that helmets give.

The year 2002 saw the development of the NFL revolution helmets by the group of Riddell. This was done to diminish the incidence of head concussions and serious head injuries that were still a common occurrence in the football field. Schutt Sports Group, another well-known manufacturer of helmets also did the same thing and they developed a new and improved helmet called DNA.

Today, there is a wide array of football helmets that people can choose from. From collector’s items to real football helmets, you have a broad range of choices. For instance, the Riddell helmets come in full size and mini helmets. The full size helmets are of the same size as those worn by professional football players while mini helmets are half the size of the full-sized helmets.

There are also what you call replica, authentic, revolution and throwback helmets which are all available in full or mini-size. Because of the many choices, helmet buyers need to decide the purpose of their helmet before buying one. It is smart to remember that collector’s items cannot be used in a real football game.

It has been 60 years since helmets have become mandatory in the NFL. With the priceless protection they give to footballers, they are bound to stay for another 60 years or more.