NFL Helmets: Old and Prototype

Here are some of my favorite old and no longer used helmets, and some of the more interesting prototypes that aren't used at all.

This is the Jets helmet from between the white variations, and for some reason I always liked it.

This is one of the early Oilers blue and white derrick deals, very classic and simple colors:

The dark blue and gold bolt is underrated and easily forgotten amid the excitement of the new/old white ones, or something:

Being a Giants fan, don't ask why an Eagle's helmet show's up here, but this old school look has always appealed to me (plus eagles kick ass):

How awesome? In the early '60s the 'Niners rocked the silver helmet with their classic logo:

And now for the prototypes.

Not so much a prototype as a gift, this is kinda cool, the reverse Bangles:

After the Oilers moved to Tennessee, they pondered the idea of becoming the Tennessee Copperheads, with a color scheme of copper and green, with an homage to their Oiler roots. It's not surprising that this look didn't go: teams usually try to make a splash with a rebrand (Brooklyn Nets notwithstanding), and even this would be pushed out for a bad idea (Titans?)

The best prototype here, this Dolphins helmet should be put into use right away:

This is the crazy disaster helmet known as the "One Day Helmet"; as in, the 49ers unveiled it and the outcry was so strong they retracted it:

Here's one of the early Falcons ideas. When they joined the league, they went with this same look, only with red instead of white:

Some Cool State Flags

There are some cool state flags out there, besides the state you live in, right?

Here's Arizona, taking design cues from Tibet:

Here's New Mexico, one of the best uses of simple aboriginal American imagery:

South Carolina is defined by the crescent moon and palmetto tree, as seen on their rather sweet state flag:

The White Helmets of the Old AFL

The main professional league of American Football is the NFL, and within it are two conferences, the NFC and the AFC. The history behind these are kind of interesting. Originally there was the APFC, which turned into the NFL, which absorbed the AAFC (adding the Rams, Browns and Niners), which was challenged by the AFL, a rival league. Eventually they merged, and the conferences take their names from the merger.

Originally the Super Bowl was called the NFL-AFL Championship Game.

Something struck me about the helmets around today in the AFC. The Dolphins and Jets and Bills and Chargers, old school teams from the AFL, and with a throwback helmet from the Patriots, I realized there were many helmets that are white with a logo.

I went and collected some of the old designs. With teams like the Jets and Dolphins, you can see that their helmets from today haven't changed very much.

The first is for the original Boston Patriots, now the New England Patriots. Now they play in Foxboro, Mass. This design, with the payer in the three-point stance, was used until 1992, when they switched to the silver look. They still break it out every year for at least a game.

This is an early Buffalo Bills helmet. Now they use the white with the stylized buffalo, which will follow it.

In fact, the new helmets from the same teams will directly follow these old AFL helmets from here on out.

This is from the Houston Oilers, but isn't their original design (that was blue with a white derrick). This team moved to Memphis and became the Tennessee Titans. The Titans still use a white helmet with the powder blue:

Here's an old look from the San Diego Chargers, which is remarkably close to today's look, minus the player's numbers (like Alabama):

Here's the Dolphins, one of the least changed designs in the league:

And the Jets, another team that adopted an old school look, resembling this old school, after their 80s era solid green look:

It's remarkable how little some of these things change.

And, because I found it, here's an unused helmet for the new Houston team, the Texans: