History of football equipment

During the early years, football players did not have enough football equipment to use as protection. Before shoulder pads did not exist and the pads for the legs are quite small. Most players did not even wear helmets but then they started using them as time went by, but still they did not wear face mask. Since then, a lot of improvements were made in much football equipment still being used up until today.

Like mentioned earlier, player did not have enough protection as they play the game and the penalties were not that tough and they were just minimal. Not until 1900 when President Theodore Roosevelt fought in a game and suggested to make it safer. He did this because he noticed that players frequently have injuries.

NFL did not really require wearing of helmets not until 1943. However, a lot of football teams have already wore them even before it was officially recognized by NFL. Dick Plasman of Chicago Bears was the last one to play football with out a helmet sometime in 1940. In 1994, the NFL started to allow the use of wireless communications in regular season football games. It was done to make it easier for the coaches to give orders to the quarterback. These wireless communications are radios located inside the helmet of a quarterback. The NFL stated that helmets with headsets must have a green dot at the back.

Ridell was the one who created the very first chinstrap in the year 1940, which was designed to be worn on the chin and not on the Adam's apple. He was also the one who fist made the plastic face mask. Most plastic face mask are synthetic and are purely derived from coal salt, petroleum, water and air. They are very light yet they are strong for any weight.

In 1874, the bicycle jockey strap was created. It was a creation behind the marvelous hands of Charles Bennett, a member of the Sharp & Smith a Chicago sporting goods company. This was originally made for bicycle riders but was later adopted by other athletes including football players. In 1902, the undergarment claimed a mass marketing. This garment was especially made for medical protection of the male gender from rough sports. One of the earliest football equipments were the quilted hip pads which was created in the 1890's. These are protective gears made of plastic to protect the hips, coccyx and the pelvis.

Riddell invented the PAC-3 in 1974. This is a padded aero cell. The vinyl cushions are not to be pumped up and the maintenance was quite narrowed down enough for the players to not line up just to get helmets blow up.

Today, football equipments have been modernized and they come in different kinds and comfort which suits every kind of taste. The innovation of these gears has truly contributed to the improvement of the game itself and has lessened the occurrence of injuries. Now we can have more fun and safer football games.