Football Equipment Thread

[Bronk]

Great photos, Reb.

Here's a wire photo of the 1961 Sugar Bowl between Rice and Ole Miss. Those are the best Rice unis ever and I wish they would go back to that look:

Though this is not a pic of my dad, but he wore this style of facemask when he played football in the 1950s. Single bar "horseshoe" style:

Reb, I collect old football photos. Post em here and we can share them.

 

[chris371]

Haha i remember playing against a team last season, when my QB said " hey guys we foundthe new "worlds ugliest facemask" - and pointed to some guy wearing the Bulldog on the opposition team. Very funny.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

Those are some cool pics Bronk. The horseshoe was a pretty popular facemask during the 50s, as was the "stubby" single bar, which was considerably shorter and closer to the face than the regular single bar.



Here is Eagle Day wearing his stubby for Ole Miss in 1955.

Edited by: Colonel_Reb

 

[Bronk]

Here's Eagle Day from the same 1956 Cotton Bowl game against TCU:

 

[Bronk]

Mizzou's QB Terry McMillan wearing the horshoe bar in 1969:

 

[Colonel_Reb]

Cool pics Bronk! I didn't realize anyone in college used that in 1969. I have been thinking about Joe Namath's last facemask and how old the design was when he used it in 1977. This is a "Cow Catcher" JOP originally made in a brown color in 1952, and released in grey in 56. There may have been a few linemen wearing something similar by 1977, but I think it would have been very rare to see other players wearing this piece that year. Here's Ernie Stautner wearing one in the early 50s.

Namath in 1977

Edited by: Colonel_Reb

 

[Bronk]

I remember Namath switching to that "cow catcher" mask and wondering why he made such a choice.

I coached Optimist League football for about 15 years in a poor area and used to see helmets that had been recycled over decades. I used to trade out the kids' old helmets for new ones I'd buy (I was a bit selfish about it, some of those old warbonnets were impossible to find anywhere else). One day a kid came to practice with one of those old cow catchers. The other coaches and I stood around marveling at it. Apparently, the kid's whole family had worn that thing, bolted it on a newer shell, and just passed it on to the next guy. We bought the kid a new helmet, took the old one, stripped it, scraped it off, painted it gold and gave it out to the best lineman that year as "The Gold Helment Trophy."

 

[Colonel_Reb]

Jared Zabransky's 3 point chinstrap?

Yes, it looks as such. I thought it was a 2 pointer during the game but now seeing the pictures, it looks as though it is a 3 pointer, with one of the left side straps cut. Strange stuff, but cool! Maybe someone heard about this thread and is trying to throw me off.

Edited by: Colonel_Reb

 

[Colonel_Reb]

Another pic of Tyler Palko's 2 pointer.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

I really wonder if the 4 point chin strap rule in college has been removed or is just not being enforced. Here is Louisiana Tech QB Zac Champion's 2 point strap from the second half of 2006.

Clemson PK and soccer player Mark Buchholz is using a 2 pointer for 2007. Here he is wearing a 4 pointer in 2006 with the back strap off.

Edited by: Colonel_Reb

 

[Colonel_Reb]

A couple of uniform changes this year include Air Force, the nation's only all white starting team. The stripes that have been on the helmets for over 25 years have been removed, making the Lightning Bolt the only adornment on the white helmet shells. The uniforms have been changed as well.



Colorado State players decided to take the names off their jerseys this year, and today the Rams sported throwback helmets with white numerals on them.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

Check out this gem I found yesterday! Doug Flutie, in his last year with the Chargers, wore a helmet with a single bar facemask during the October 31, 2004 home game against the Raiders. He planned to use it if called into action as the QB. Sadly, he never made it on the field as a backup QB that day. That year, he was also listed as a backup kicker for the Bolts, and kept the helmet with the one bar mask with him in case he was needed for kicking duties. This pic is from the pregame warmups from that Raiders game.

Pretty cool stuff, as this is certainly the last time a non-kicker wore a one bar piece.

One of the last non-kickers to wear a 2 bar Riddell mask was Mark Duper, who last played on January 17, 1993. Here is his setup.

 

[backrow]

Don, i saw this cool looking facemask during Giants game the other day and found a sample (number 68)

 

[Colonel_Reb]

Wow, that is a new one! I heard that the old generation (1986 style) Schutt facemasks are not being manufactured anymore, so if this is true and you want to get one, you better hurry before they run out.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

I saw another college kicker wearing a 2 point chin strap last weekend, but I can't remember who he was or what team he plays for. If the current trend holds true, we will see more college players wearing 2 pointers, especially kickers. I'll try to think of who it was and post it on here soon.

Here's a pic of 47 year old Morten Anderson kicking with his Dungard facemask last week. He was picked up for his 25th year of professional football. If he plays till 48, he'll tie George Blanda for oldest playing age.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

John Kruger, Duke's punter in the mid 90s, wore a 2 point strap as shown here.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

Browns holder/punter Scott Player holding for a field goal here. Player is the last man in the league who wears a one bar! His nickname when punting for the Arizona Cardinals was Punty McOnebar.Edited by: Colonel_Reb

 

[Colonel_Reb]

If you think Steve Smith is diminutive, you'd be correct! He's listed as 5-9, but they might be stretching that a bit. I found this pic a few weeks ago and noticed that the Reebok logo normally found above the Panthers logo on the uniform sleeve is actually beside it, because he is so short.

I saw a Smiff jersey in a store yesterday but it wasn't authentic because the Reebok logo was above the Panthers logo. I smell a false advertisement lawsuit coming on.

Edited by: Colonel_Reb

 

[backrow]

Col, what logo?

 

[Colonel_Reb]

I guess you can tell I don't wear Reebok or Adidas.

I am a Nike and New Balance man! BTW, my favorite football jerseys are Russell Athletic.

 

[backrow]

I guess you can tell I don't wear Reebok or Adidas.

i figured!

i love old school Champion and RA footbal jerseys. i do like Underarmour stuff now, i guess i went with a flow

 

[Colonel_Reb]

I've tried on Underarmour and it just feels weird to me. The material is really thin too, but it does seem to be really popular these days.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

I found this on SI.com. It is a couple of weeks old, but still.

Is anybody else extremely excited about Morten Anderson's return spawning a single-bar facemask renaissance? Just one day after Anderson signing, the Browns brought back single-bar devotee Scott Player. Now we just need somebody to bring back the ultra-thick Joel Steed facemask.

The Joel Steed facemask is one of the Riddell ultra-light masks that were fairly popular in the 80s.

 

[backrow]

this one?

 

[backrow]

this is a cool facemask: