Different Types of Helmet
We are glad to present you the best and the greatest deals on football helmets, riddell football helmets, youth football helmet, football helmet decals and other helmets at our independent online guide. It is you bets source of the football helmet information you are looking for. We will help you with all your problems and needs. A football helmet is a protective device used primarily in American football and Canadian football which was created by Paul Brown. It consists of a hard plastic top with thick padding on the inside, a facemask made of one or more metal bars, and a chinstrap used to secure the helmet. Some players add polycarbonate visors to their helmets, which are used to protect eyes from glare and impacts.
Helmets are a requirement at all levels of organized football, except for non-tackle variations such as flag football. Although they are protective, players can and do still suffer head injuries such as concussion. Each position has a different type of face mask to balance protection and visibility.
One of the first instances of football headgear dates to 1896 when Lafayette College halfback George "Rose" Barclay, began to use straps and earpieces to protect his ears. Additionally, other sources credit the invention of the football helmet to United States Naval Academy Midshipman Cadet Joseph M. Reeves (later to become the "Father of Carrier Aviation"), who had a protective device for his head made out of mole skin to allow him to play in the 1893 Army-Navy game.
Later helmets were made of padded leather, and resembled aviators' helmets. In professional football, at least, they were also optional. Some National Football League players, notably Hall-of-Famer Bill Hewitt, played all or most of their careers helmetless.
By the mid 1940s, helmets were finally required in the NFL. They were still made of leather, but with improved manufacturing techniques had assumed their more familiar spherical shape. By the 1950s, the introduction of polymers brought the leather helmet era to an end.
The face mask was also introduced around this time, reducing the number of broken noses and teeth, but also necessitating new rules prohibiting opposing players from grabbing the face mask, a dangerous action which can call for a penalty of 5 or 15 yards, depending on severity and intention.
It should be mentioned that all the helmets that we suggest meet NOCSAE standards (National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment). The fit is critical and we have supplied you with sizing charts for each helmet. Some helmets come with a built in inflation chamber to customize the fit and protection. No helmet prevents concussions, but the University of Pittsburgh recently completed a study that found that athletes who wore the Riddell Revolution Helmet were 31% less likely to suffer a concussion.