Terminology... Popping Shoulder Pads

This is article #25 in a series covering the origins of football’s terminology. All are available under the Terminology tab above. My book, Hut! Hut! Hike! describes the emergence of more than 400 football terms.

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The sights and sounds of particular bird species traveling along their migratory path herald the arrival of spring and fall. Another sign of seasonal change is the late summer arrival of writers, commentators, and fans gushing about "popping shoulder pads," along with variations such as the "popping of shoulder pads" and hearing "shoulder pads pop." A second set of shoulder pad-popping comments comes near the close of each season.

I've written before about the evolution of shoulder pads and their journey from leather or cloth pads sewn on jersey exteriors to their soft leather form, then onto the harder leather and fiber materials of the 1930s, and finally to the plastics used for the last seventy years.

Unknown team, some with homemade shoulder pads. (RPPC, Personal collection)