Today's Tidbit... Football And Paper Cups

In July 2022, when Football Archaeology was starting, I published Today's Tidbit... Football and Water, which provided a few images of how teams doled out water to players back in the day. I promised to return with a full article describing football's water conundrum but forgot to return to the topic until today. I had previously covered football's focus on water discipline (i.e., denying players access to water) in How Football Became Football, so I did not feel too bad about my slipup.

The water discipline practice was terribly misinformed and undoubtedly led to players dying on the field from wearing heavy water-absorbing gear while being denied water. It was once a common practice, and more than one old-time coach is glorified today for his disciplined practices, which included denying his players water.

We know better today, thanks largely to researchers at the University of Florida who invented Gatorade in the 1960s. Their testing and supply of Gatorade to a team that won several come-from-behind games convinced people that replenishing players' bodies had performance benefits. It took a couple of years, but the floodgates soon opened, and nearly every football player suddenly had access to water.

So, I recently came across a 1946 image and caption regarding a water dispensing kit invented by Penn State's trainer, Jack Hulme. Hulme's invention attempted to solve the age-old problem of trainers taking a water bucket onto the field from which players refreshed themselves by scooping water with a shared ladle. The same bucket often contained a sponge to squeeze over players' heads to help them cool down. The same sponge wiped blood from cuts and bloody noses in the days before face mask-wearing was widespread. After cleaning the bloody mess, they tossed the sponge back into the water bucket, from which future ladling for refreshment occurred.

Drinking from a ladle on the sideline on a cold Los Angeles day. (1948 Occidental yearbook)

Apparently, Hulme recognized that the current water dispensing system needed improvement. He devised a tray containing a series of metal cups that sat atop the sponge bucket.