Photo Of The Day

This was a way for testing football helmets back in 1912.

In professional football, the only line of defense against head injury is the helmet. But the earliest football helmet looked more like a padded aviator cap than the high-tech crash-tested helmet used by today’s players.

It is not certain who invented the football helmet. In 1896 Lafayette College halfback George “Rose” Barclay began to use straps and earpieces to protect his ears. His headgear soon became known as a “head harness”. It had three thick leather straps forming a close fit around his head, made by a harness maker. Some other sources say that helmets come to life when an Annapolis shoemaker created the first helmet for Admiral Joseph Mason Reeves, who had been advised by a Navy doctor that he would be risking death or “instant insanity” if he took another kick to the head.