Football Archaeology

Football Archaeology

Share this post

Football Archaeology
Football Archaeology
Today's Tidbit... Transitioning from Leather to Plastic
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
Tidbits (Paid)

Today's Tidbit... Transitioning from Leather to Plastic

Football Archaeology's avatar
Football Archaeology
Aug 09, 2022
∙ Paid

Share this post

Football Archaeology
Football Archaeology
Today's Tidbit... Transitioning from Leather to Plastic
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
Share

Riddell invented plastic helmets and offered them first to Northwestern, who wore them for their season opener versus Syracuse in 1940. Other schools wanted to use plastic helmets for the 1941 season, but by then, plastics had been declared a wartime material as the U.S. geared up for war. Schools quickly switched to plastic helmets when they became available after the war, though some players opted to stick with leather.

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.

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
© 2025 Timothy P. Brown
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture

Share

Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More