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Single bar facemasks


judman

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Scott Norwood was among the last ten players to wear the single bar facemask. I always wondered where the single bar went. Now I know.

 

A quick read from yahoo sports...

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_...a?urn=nfl,86929

 

Ya... But they didn't show any Qb's... Joe Theismann had to be the last Qb to wear one... ??

 

Ode to the single bar:

 

Last Non-Kicker to Wear Single Bar

 

Interesting read on the "arms race" leading to the first facemask:

 

Team namesake and patriarch Paul Brown conceived the single-bar facemask. He ordered equipment manager Leo Murphy to fashion an appliance to keep quarterback Otto Graham on the field during a game in 1953. Graham's mouth had been torn open, but he came back after halftime and managed a victory.

 

Brown soon mandated facemasks for all of his players. Other teams eventually adopted a similar policy.

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Interesting on how the NFL, "No Fun League" banned these things out right. Maybe a little because of guys like Ochocinco Johnson? Hmmmm? Also insurance purposes...

 

"We got a call about three years ago from Chad Johnson of the Bengals, and he went into a rap about how he wanted us to send in these old-time facemasks to him so he could wear one every week," Parker said in an interview last summer. "Someone prevented him from doing that. He wasn't allowed to wear it, but he sure tried."

I wonder if there is a loophole wear a player can wear the "single double-bar?" You know like the one Fergy or OJ used to wear??

 

Hey Chad... :unsure: Ochocinco, I think the loophole is callin' you!

 

:w00t:

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If Nick Lowery was still in the league, he'd never stand for this. He'd march right into Roger Goodell's office, slam his single-barred helmet down on his desk, point to his full and lustrous moustache, and he'd scream, "THIS IS MY SECOND BAR, YOU PANSY." And that would be that.

 

:unsure:

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Maybe some thought should be given to bringing the single bar back. It might make guys think twice about leading with their head when tackling.

 

Banned all together.

 

Now... Like I said, what about the "single double-bar."

 

??

 

Anyway... Even the old guys led with their face... You did read what Nitschke did to Yepremian (last open face player) back in 1966:

 

Yepremian can attest to that. He was the last NFL player to go sans facemask because even one bar made him feel "claustrophobic," he said. That was with the Detroit Lions in 1966, and in the fourth game Green Bay Packers enforcer Ray Nitschke detonated him.

 

"I would wake up every morning with blood in my mouth," Yepremian said. "I learned my lesson, and I adapted in 1967 and stayed with [the single-bar facemask]."

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I think mark duper must have been among the last with the "double-single bar"

 

I believe you are right... Steve Largent was in 1989, there were a couple of kickers that retired in 1990 and 1991... Mark Duper hung them it up in 1992.

 

Yet... Technically speaking... The last to wear it (single-double bar) in a game was:

 

TRENT DILFER! :D:huh:

 

WTF!

 

"In 1998 Trent Dilfer of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers actually had an equipment manager put Terry Bradshaw's old facebar on his helmet. He wore it in a nationally televised game against Tennessee. From what I remember, he did it as a tribute to one of his boyhood role models. It is the only time he wore anything other than the standard cage that most quarterbacks wear."

 

 

I got this from a forum after doing a search:

 

Professional Forrball Researchers Association

 

Enjoy!

 

Oh... Then there is this about the Munckin:

 

"I seem to recall that Doug Flutie had special permission from the NFL to wear a single bar facemask helmet when he was with the Chargers. He couldn't wear it in game action, but he frequently wore one in pre-game warmups."

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Scott Norwood was among the last ten players to wear the single bar facemask. I always wondered where the single bar went. Now I know.

 

A quick read from yahoo sports...

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_...a?urn=nfl,86929

I don't see why someone like Scott Player (who ever that was) even wore one, it was below his chin and served no purpose other than to meet league rules of wearing one. My guess is Owen Wilson wore one in high school, maybe that is why his nose looks like it has been broken a dozen times.

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Don't let KRC find out you spelled football wrong.

:beer: Yeah, really.

 

Thanks for dropping by, EII. And if Denis posts something about the Bucs, you can take it as fact -- the guy (literally) wrote the book on "McKay's Men." It was a pleasure meeting him at the most recent PFRA gathering, and I look forward to seeing him again in Canton next June.

 

(Which reminds me, time to renew my membership ... check will be in the mail soon, KRC.)

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I don't see why someone like Scott Player (who ever that was) even wore one, it was below his chin and served no purpose other than to meet league rules of wearing one. My guess is Owen Wilson wore one in high school, maybe that is why his nose looks like it has been broken a dozen times.

 

+1

 

The first time I heard of Owen Wilson was when I read a movie review that said he looked like his nose was broken by a DC-10.

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I don't see why someone like Scott Player (who ever that was) even wore one, it was below his chin and served no purpose other than to meet league rules of wearing one. My guess is Owen Wilson wore one in high school, maybe that is why his nose looks like it has been broken a dozen times.

 

Sorry I missed this. The bar did serve a purpose... He used one screw to hold it onto the helmet (normally two screws would hold the bar on)... When he kicked it was rocked way down... After the punt, on coverage, he would push the bar up in front of his face for protection.

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