The first helmets ever produced for the use in football were made of soft leather and provided minimal protection to the skull and ears. The strap of the helmet was set to attach to the players neck. Over time, the leather consisting of a helmet got harder and harder providing more protection each version. In this same time frame, helmet producers started using fabric to line the inside of the helmet to take some of the load of a head collision, with this came even greater protection. Also the shape of the helmet was experimented with. The helmet went from a flat top to an oval shape to help deflect any impacts. The biggest advancement in helmets came in 1939, with the Riddell Company’s introduction of the plastic helmet. The Riddell Company also redesigned the strap to fit to the players chin. It wasn’t until the 1940’s that the first face mask came onto the scene. In the 1970’s, Dr. Richard Schneider of the University of Michigan Hospital created a bladder for air. The padding previously provided by fabric material was not an air cushion. Through this course of technological advances, the football helmet of today has come to be. Below is a side by side picture of the first leather helmets and today’s helmet.
http://www.madehow.com/Volume-3/Football-Helmet.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Football_helmet
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