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Leather cap invention
The first football helmet was made because of a man named, Admiral Joseph Mason Reeve. Reeve's doctor said if Reeve kept getting hit in the head, it could lead to “instant insanity.”
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/leatherhead-to-radio-head-the-evolution-of-the-football-helmet-56585562/ -
Hardened leather cap
In the early 1920s, hardened leather caps were first introduced, reducing injury.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/leatherhead-to-radio-head-the-evolution-of-the-football-helmet-56585562/ -
Helmets became manditory
Seeking to make the sport still safer, in 1943, the NFL made helmets mandatory.
https://atavus.com/history-of-the-football-helmet/ -
The plastic helmet
The first plastic helmet was made by John T. Riddell in 1939. Making the game much safer then it was.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/leatherhead-to-radio-head-the-evolution-of-the-football-helmet-56585562/ -
Durability problem
After WWII, football helmets went back into production lines, but there was a problem with the plastic mix that caused many helmets to break into pieces.
https://atavus.com/history-of-the-football-helmet/ -
The helmet bar was introduced
Helmets were open faced before 1955, this caused bloody noses, bruised faces, and swollen lips. This changed in 1955 when they introduced the single bar football helmets. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/leatherhead-to-radio-head-the-evolution-of-the-football-helmet-56585562/ -
Reducing injury's
Due to all the injury's that were beginning to happen with the single bar facemask, more helmet bars were https://atavus.com/history-of-the-football-helmet/ -
Helmets go high tech
Riddell introduced a rigid polycarbonate alloy shell and vinyl-coated steel alloy facemasks. This helmet was called the Riddell VSR4.
https://atavus.com/history-of-the-football-helmet/ -
The more complex facemask (facemasks today)
Though the single bar face mask was an important invention, it was soon replaced by increasingly more complex styles of face protection.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/leatherhead-to-radio-head-the-evolution-of-the-football-helmet-56585562/ -
Combating concussions
Schutt’s F7 model, features a shell of “Tectonic” plates and cushioning to move independently and a liner that diffuses the force of impact.
https://atavus.com/history-of-the-football-helmet/