Today's Tidbit... Disintegrating Football Pants
Early football players wore tight-fitting, all-purpose pants suitable for the gym or for other athletic activities, but as the game became power-oriented in the 1890s, they added quilted pads to the front of their pants.
The 1900s saw cane ribs integrated into the thigh pads to offer mechanical protection while the knees remained padded with felt or hair.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Football Archaeology to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.