I’ve been doing a little reading about football helmets for a longer essay I’m writing which should come out before the Super Bowl. So, let this post serve as a tiny preview of coming attractions and a giant reminder to myself of the impending arrival of a deadline. Football helmets today are made of a plastic polycarbonate alloy and weight between four and six pounds. This type of helmet first came into common use in the 1990s. The first helmets were used in football in the 1890s and were simple leather caps. Football didn’t mandate helmets until 1943, four years after the invention of the first plastic helmet by John T. Riddell in Chicago. I’m fascinated by the evolution of the helmet and how changes in helmet technology have affected how football is played and what types of injures football players suffer.
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