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Tidbits

Today's Tidbit... An Early Football Visor

Timothy P. Brown

Jul 26, 2022

Before football players attached plastic visors to their face masks, Al Vandeweghe developed another visor for football helmets.

Vandeweghe played at William & Mary and for several naval bases during WWII. Following the war, he camped with the Philadelphia Eagle before playing in 1946 for the AAFC's Buffalo Bisons. After his playing days, he coached a few years at William & Mary before taking a role in education and training at Ft. Eustis (VA).

‘Vandeweghe Visor Newest Grid Idea,’ Daily Press (Newport News, VA), October 10, 1954.

While at Ft. Eustis, he invented the Vandeweghe Visor, a pliant rubber device protruding two inches from the helmet that shaded the eyes, reduced the likelihood of facial injuries and acted as a shock absorber.

Alas, the invention never caught on, but the VV at least had its moment in the sun.

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