AFL All Star Helmet

[NEFAN]

http://cgi.ebay.com/1972-D-Lamonica-Signed-Game-Used-AFL-Pro-Bowl-Helmet_W0QQitemZ300348804501QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_ DefaultDomain_0?hash=item45ee2f0d95&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

Experts, what are your thoughts?

[ironmanfan]

Interesting how seller used the term "AFL" in auction description when in actuality it was the "AFC" in 1972 (probably in an attempt to generate more looks); I've seen a few of these Pro Bowl helmets and it looks legit to me.

[helmets]

Was listed in Mastro's December 2008 "Legends" auction with a min bid of $1,000. It received no bids and did not sell. Relisted again in their April 2009 auction with a min bid of $200. It sold, with the fee for $1140.

Must be the owner thinks that it is worth a bit more than what he/she paid for it...

[BorchertField]

Interesting how seller used the term "AFL" in auction description when in actuality it was the "AFC" in 1972 (probably in an attempt to generate more looks); I've seen a few of these Pro Bowl helmets and it looks legit to me.

I'm inclined to believe that's a mistake, since it only appears once, and anyone familiar with the NFL knows the AFL had ceased to exist by 1972.

Doesn't look like an attempt to mislead.

[aeneas01]

I'm inclined to believe that's a mistake... Doesn't look like an attempt to mislead.

i agree... in fact the ebay seller simply listed it in the same manner it was listed at mastro, 1972 daryle lamonica signed game used afl pro bowl helmet.

this is an interesting helmet, i mentioned it in the past when it was listed at mastro, but the ebay seller has made it more interesting by including additional photos. there's one shot of the inside of the helmet where he's showing lamonica's "3" taped to the inside of the shell. next to this tape you can make out a vintage riddell guarantee decal stamped f-65 (june 1965) - this wasn't revealed in the mastro auction.

so if lamonica wore this helmet in the 1973 pro bowl (1972 season), the helmet would have been 7 years old at the time which is interesting. whatever the case, imo this helmet looks to be a dead ringer for the helmet he wore in the 1971 pro bowl (1970 season).

but even though this helmet appears to be authentic, i think it has a steep downside imo due to the fact that lamonica was known to have worn a different helmet model throughout his illustrious career. typically pro bowlers took their helmets from the season with them to the pb where they were painted pb colors. but that doesn't appear to be the case with lamonica given he clearly sported a different model during the season.

perhaps he gave his helmet away at the end of the season and was issued this one by the raiders for pb use. perhaps he didn't want his game helmet painted red. who knows. but there does appear to be a raiders helmet lurking below the red paint, and his name taped to the inside of the shell would seem to support this. when the pb people painted the helmets they would typically tape the player's name to the inside of the shell so they could tell which helmet belonged to which player once they were all painted pb team colors, once they all looked alike (among other reasons).

with that said, you have to wonder where all of the interior wear on this helmet came from if lamonica didn't wear it during the season. did the raiders pull it out of practice inventory? did it belong to another well known raiders player that got a lot use out of it?

...

[genius]

This is o/t but it would be a big improvement to the Pro Bowl to go back to these classic AFC/NFC lids rather than team lids.