Best College Helmet

[Cincydawg]

I know UGA threw a lot of passes in the 1940s, relatively speaking.  I imagine many were quick outs and the like.  It would be fun to watch a game from that era, at least a little bit of it.  Charlie Trippi would pass quite a bit, and handled kicking duties, at 160 pounds, considered undersized.  Sinkwich weighed 190, which was not unusual at the time for a running back.  This is him on left with Trippi.



In his three-year college career, Sinkwich rushed for 2,271 yards, passed for 2,331 yards, and accounted for 60 touchdowns (30 rushing and 30 passing).^[1] Sinkwich earned his Bachelor of Science in Education (B.S.Ed.) from the university in 1943 and was a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity.

The helmets appear to be plain.  This must have been 1942.

[FearlessF]

Safeties can't decapitate defenseless receivers if you never throw a pass!

Way back then, everyone was 150-180 lbs.  Everyone could block and tackle, because if you couldn't, you weren't on the team.

perhaps, but there were many cases of folks trying to ban the game because too many young men were seriously injured or died

[Cincydawg]

Teddy Roosevelt era, the game almost was banned back when.

From its earliest days as a mob game, football was a very violent sport.^[11] The 1894 Harvard-Yale game, known as the "Hampden Park Blood Bath", resulted in crippling injuries for four players; the contest was suspended until 1897. The annual Army-Navy game was suspended from 1894 to 1898 for similar reasons.^[77] One of the major problems was the popularity of mass-formations like the flying wedge, in which a large number of offensive players charged as a unit against a similarly arranged defense. The resultant collisions often led to serious injuries and sometimes even death.^[78] Georgia fullback Richard Von Albade Gammon died on the field from a concussion received against Virginia in 1897, causing some southern universities to temporarily stop their football programs.^[79]

In 1905 there were 19 fatalities nationwide. President Theodore Roosevelt reportedly threatened to shut down the game if drastic changes were not made.^[80] However, though he lectured on eliminating and reducing injuries, and held a meeting of football representatives from Harvard, Yale, and Princeton on October 9, 1905, he never threatened to completely ban football. He lacked the authority to abolish the game and was actually a fan who wanted to preserve it. The President's sons were playing football at the college and secondary levels at the time.^[81]

Meanwhile, John H. Outland held an experimental game in Wichita, Kansas that reduced the number of scrimmage plays to earn a first down from four to three in an attempt to reduce injuries.^[82] The Los Angeles Times reported an increase in punts and considered the game much safer than regular play but that the new rule was not "conducive to the sport."^[83] Finally, on December 28, 1905, 62 schools met in New York City to discuss rule changes to make the game safer. As a result of this meeting, the Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States, later named the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), was formed.^[84] One rule change introduced in 1906, devised to open up the game and reduce injury, was the introduction of the legal forward pass. Though it was underutilized for years, this proved to be one of the most important rule changes in the establishment of the modern game.^[85]

1906 St. Louis Post-Dispatch photograph of Brad Robinson, who threw the first legal forward pass and was the sport's first triple threat

As a result of the 1905–1906 reforms, mass formation plays became illegal and forward passes legal. Bradbury Robinson, playing for visionary coach Eddie Cochems at St. Louis University, threw the first legal pass in a September 5, 1906, game against Carroll College at Waukesha. Other important changes, formally adopted in 1910, were the requirements that at least seven offensive players be on the line of scrimmage at the time of the snap, that there be no pushing or pulling, and that interlocking interference (arms linked or hands on belts and uniforms) was not allowed. These changes greatly reduced the potential for collision injuries.^[86] Several coaches emerged who took advantage of these sweeping changes. Amos Alonzo Stagg introduced such innovations as the huddle, the tackling dummy, and the pre-snap shift.^[87] Other coaches, such as Pop Warner and Knute Rockne, introduced new strategies that still remain part of the game.^[88][89]
Besides these coaching innovations, several rules changes during the first third of the 20th century had a profound impact on the game, mostly in opening up the passing game. In 1914, the first roughing-the-passer penalty was implemented. In 1918, the rules on eligible receivers were loosened to allow eligible players to catch the ball anywhere on the field—previously strict rules were in place only allowing passes to certain areas of the field.^[90] Scoring rules also changed during this time: field goals were lowered to three points in 1909^[3] and touchdowns raised to six points in 1912.^[91]

[Cincydawg]

I had wondered why the rule about so many men in the backfield was a rule, but I can see it would eliminate this flying wedge thing.  The "covered receiver" rule is a bit odd to me.  What is this "forward pass" thing???

[ELA]

Which is why I'm not against minimal baseball formation restrictions

[Cincydawg]

Which is why I'm not against minimal baseball formation restrictions

Yeah, interesting point and comparison, though for different reasons.

I watched a bit of two games so far, the DH is a bit annoying to me, they still shift.

[LetsGoPeay]

I'm biased of course but these are some of the best in college football recently.



But if they went back to these full time I wouldn't cry about it. 

[ELA]

Agreed.  The more they wear those top ones, the better.

[Cincydawg]

Yeah, nice simply helmets with the right amoung of pizzazz, IMHO.

Do folks think the ND helmet is worthy?  I lean to thinking they are good helmets because of tradition.

[MrNubbz]

Ya the loot at the end of the Leprechaun's rainbow and all of that

[OrangeAfroMan]

Were there any seasons, like in the 70s especially, that ND wore green jerseys for a whole year?

[NorthernOhioBuckeye]

Were there any seasons, like in the 70s especially, that ND wore green jerseys for a whole year?

I wasn't aware that they wore them for a whole season. However, they do occasionally break them out for a big game at home. It is supposed to be a big deal when they do. 

[847badgerfan]

I like when they break out the green and get spanked.

[MrNubbz]

That's true it seems that at least in recent years those unis have not gained a favorable return. So by All means they need to wear them at least when facing Big Ten Teams