Today's Tidbit... The NCAA First Required Face Masks in 1993

Football is a rough game with a history full of attempts to limit the number of player injuries. Rules were enacted to reduce injuries, including early football's bans on slugging and hacking. Rules requiring seven players on the line of scrimmage and only one player in motion reduced the dangerous mass and momentum plays. Clipping, piling on, spearing, and targeting penalties are also intended to minimize injuries.

Beyond the rules, players and, later, sporting goods manufacturers created nose guards, shoulder pads, headgear, and other equipment to protect against the worst of the blows. With few exceptions, advances in equipment designs did not result from those with formal authority over the game but from players, some coaches, a few tinkers, and numerous suppliers. Moreover, the rules requiring players to wear protective equipment almost always came after its widespread use.

This point was never made clearer than the NCAA's rule requiring players to wear face masks, which they waited until 1993 to enact. That is not a typo. They waited until 1993 to add that rule.