Today's Tidbit... An Insider's Look at Super Bowl VII's Helmet Carts

The NFL was still tweaking its glitz and glam formula in 1973 when the Dolphins and Redskins played in Super Bowl VII. Among the excesses used to celebrate the day were the 140-member University of Michigan band, the Apollo 17 crew, entertainers from Woody Herman to Sammy Davis Jr. to Andy Williams, and, of course, the Happy People Singers.

But wait, there was more. The NFL also released 4,000 pigeons and 20,000 balloons. Yet, none of those excesses compared to the sight of 26 helmet carts, one per franchise at $5,000 a pop. Those carts were so amazing that pictures of them still float around the internet today. However, Football Archaeology is the only place on God's green Astroturf where you'll see those helmet carts covered, as they were in the November-December 1972 issue of Du Pont Refinisher News.

The cover blurb found beneath the Table of Contents on page 2 below indicates that Sportoys, Inc. of Beverly Hills manufactured those carts. They smartly used LUCITE® acrylic lacquer to finish each helmet's brilliant hues while protecting the face mask bumpers with IMRON® polyurethane enamel. But we're getting ahead of the story.

Critical to doing a bang-up job on the helmets was matching the helmet cart colors with those of each team's helmet and logo, omitting, of course, the Cleveland Browns logo. And while they only needed the Steelers logo on one side of the helmet, they had the same amount of color-matching work whether they adorned one side or two with the logo.

That's where Richard "Korky" Korkes, production manager for Sportoys, came in. He's pictured above with Larry Sillin, a Du Pont sales representative who provided technical assistance.

Football helmet carts had been around for a while before Super Bowl VII, though fans were more likely to have seen baseball teams using similar carts to haul pitchers in from the bullpen. Those carts disappeared by the mid-1990s when even the laziest pitcher realized it would be easier to walk to the mound, but football helmet carts enjoyed a longer shelf life and probably still roll around some fields.

Whereas baseball carts brought ready-for-action players onto the field, football helmet carts took broken players off the field. They had padded seating behind the front bumper and additional seating in the back, as well as room for the driver, a trainer, and various training and medical equipment.

To get the colors right, Korky used a Du Pont mixing machine, beginning with PREPARAKOTE® primer-surfacer. Du Pont's Spot 'N Glaze putty filled in any imperfections in the fiberglass helmets, followed by eight coats of LUCITE and sanding with #320 grit dry paper in between.

I could go on, but you can read additional technical details and see some pictures of the production process on page 4 below.

Besides each cart having Super Bowl game-used status after the big event, they went on to serve useful lives for each franchise, hauling injured players to the locker rooms while also carting celebrities onto the field for coin flips and anthem singing.

Merlin Olsen and Rick Kay ride the Rams helmet cart to the locker room.('Helmet Turned Into Ambulance,' Press-Telegram (Long Beach), September 27, 1976.)

The helmet carts, as cultural icons, proved helpful in a range of promotional efforts as well. Some lucky fans rode on the carts by winning promotional contests, and the carts appeared at shopping centers, golf tournaments, or nearly any place where a helmet cart and a few cheerleaders might assist in brand building.

The NFL did not have exclusive rights to the use of helmet carts. The WFL's Portland Storm had one, as did many high schools and colleges.

('Portland Storm ad,' Capital Journal (Salem, OR), August 1, 1974.)

Nevertheless, helmet carts are either gone or have been on the decline since their dual role of hauling injured players and promoting the brand became bad optics. Serious sports fans can still buy helmet carts to tool around their golf course or retirement community. In some cases, you can even buy team-used helmet carts after they complete their tour of duty.

A slightly used Iowa State helmet cart sold for $1,601 in 2013. (GovDeals)

Although helmet carts have seen better days, we should never forget that glorious day inside the Los Angeles Coliseum in 1973, when the football world celebrated Super Bowl VII and 26 of the proudest little helmet carts in the land were there, giving each franchise and fan base a share in the magical moment. The only thing that would have made the day even better is if the Vikings had played that year and lost yet another Super Bowl.

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