49ers Helmet Game Used???

[SkubeBats]

Hello,
I picked this helmet up the other day. I was wondering if it's a game used helmet or a kids helmet. Also what's it worth? Any help would be great.

[Shipp_96]

Re: 49ers Helmet Game Used???

Not a helmet expert, but some obvious issues are the gray molded face mask with the more modern striping from the late 90s to the just a couple of years ago. They had red face masks then (see below). Then there is the old Rawlings 70s font, it seems like a weird Frankenstein helmet. Maybe a pee wee football helmet?

[Shipp_96]

Re: 49ers Helmet Game Used???

Dang it! Here are the pictures...

[chd49er]

Re: 49ers Helmet Game Used???

Shipp is correct. Based on striping and decals it should have a red face mask. 1995 was the last year they had red and white stripes with gray face mask. Only other tine is when they wore throw backs. Not until the last few of years have they gone back to the 1995 and previous helmets and uniforms. The padding inside the helmet also seems to be sub par for game use.

Below is Charlie Garner's game useed helmet from 2000 with red face mask.

The other helmet is late 80' or early to mid 90's game used.

Sorry for the bad quality on the pics but i think you get the picture. Hope this helps.

ALWAYS BUYING 49ER GAMERS!!! WILL MAKE IT WORTH YOUR WHILE!!! PLEASE CONTACT ME WITH ANYTHING YOU HAVE OR IF YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO DOES!!!

cdubois@carolina.rr.com

Clay

[John in KY]

Re: 49ers Helmet Game Used???

Hello,
I picked this helmet up the other day. I was wondering if it's a game used helmet or a kids helmet. Also what's it worth? Any help would be great.

Yes, it's a kids (looks more like a pop warner Rawlings than those Rawlings NFL-licensed "not for competitive play" helmets that Sears and Penneys sold in the 70s) that's been done up as a 49er's display piece with the 1996-2008 decals. It had some other type of mask on it at some point (not the screw hole near where the current face mask clip is attached) so it might have been originally done as a replica during that era with a red mask, then had the mask changed to grey after 2009.

Regardless, it's a kids helmet done as a replica, not an NFL game used.

[John in KY]

Re: 49ers Helmet Game Used???

Yes, it's a kids (looks more like a pop warner Rawlings than those Rawlings NFL-licensed "not for competitive play" helmets that Sears and Penneys sold in the 70s) that's been done up as a 49er's display piece with the 1996-2008 decals. It had some other type of mask on it at some point (not the screw hole near where the current face mask clip is attached) so it might have been originally done as a replica during that era with a red mask, then had the mask changed to grey after 2009.

Regardless, it's a kids helmet done as a replica, not an NFL game used.

Quoting myself since you can't edit posts here - the other tip off is that the padding appears to be rubber coated. NFL Rawlings helmets of a similar style had leather covered padding. Of course they were long gone by early 80s anyway. The mid-80s Rawlings had a competely different interior padding system.

[kudu]

Re: 49ers Helmet Game Used???

Sorry to hijack this thread, but does anyone know if this 49ers helmet could have been used in the London game in 1988:




I noticed it doesn't have the "49ers" on the front of it like their regular season helmets, so I was wondering if they made these helmets especially for the game.

[kudu]

Re: 49ers Helmet Game Used???

Here's another view of the helmet:

[kudu]

Re: 49ers Helmet Game Used???

OK, here are some better pics of the helmet. Anyone have the London game vs the Dolphins on 7/31/88 on VHS tape or DVD? Let me know. I will check on I Have Planet.com website

[John in KY]

Re: 49ers Helmet Game Used???

OK, here are some better pics of the helmet. Anyone have the London game vs the Dolphins on 7/31/88 on VHS tape or DVD? Let me know. I will check on I Have Planet.com website

[ATTACH]55023[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]55024[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]55025[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]55026[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]55027[/ATTACH]

I've been searching for photos of the 49ers from 1988 - there only ones I can find from that American Bowl game are of Joe Montana, who of course wore an Air Power helmet. At any rate, I can't find a good shot of a player with a Riddell helmet to see if they cover up any of the Riddell logos.

I'm thinking this might not be a game worn but one that was sold by Riddell as a souvenier of the game - mainly because you typically don't see an NFL gamer with the size decal on the outside of the helmet (they are typically removed) and I can't find a photo of a 49ers game helmet from any maker that has a white warning sticker on it - the ones I'm seeing have clear sticker with black letters.

I'll keep researching and add anything else I find.

[kudu]

Re: 49ers Helmet Game Used???

Thanks John for your help. An update on my end, I am in the process of getting the game on dvd from a user on http://www.ihaveplanet.com/ . Will post an update once I get the dvd and watch it.

[kudu]

Re: 49ers Helmet Game Used???

Finished watching the game. I wasn't able to get a clear screenshot of the Riddell on the front side of a players helmet in the game, but I did get one from the back side:



Also, found out Joe Horn was not the first player to celebrate using a cell phone. That goes to Mark Clayton:



Was also cool to see Bill Romanowski play in one of his first NFL games.

[coffeebeanjoe]

Re: 49ers Helmet Game Used???

Most of the 49er game used helmets I see for sale or auction look fake to me. There is an interesting story behind the 49ers helmets that they used in the 80's to the mid 90's.
In 1985, I met the people who ran Jim Davis Enterprises on Palm Ave in San Mateo, CA. They painted the helmets and cleaned/repaired the 49ers uniforms after the games. Phil Ehrhorn, along with the brothers from Fiji, Patrick and R.J. Prasad, ran the reconditioners for years. They painted several 49er helmets for me and along the way taught me so much about helmets and the uniforms. Things like Plastisol, Vinylguard, Armorguard, shockblocks, red dot, green dot, grey dot. Eventually, Riddell/ AllAmerican bought out Jim Davis but the Prasads stayed and are still there today.
Real 49er game helmets were painted a special shade of gold, approved by the team. The color, when seen from angles, almost has a very slight green tint to it. The paint itself was an Imron paint, chosen for it's toughness. Unfortunately, That same quality interacted chemically with the shells and caused them to shatter. Not in the manner that a glass plate might shatter, but like micro fratures in the shell that would show up when xrayed during reconditioning.
I always look at the mounting straps to see if its a gamer. Schutt RS mounting straps of the 1980's always discolored and turned a golden brown. Schutt corrected this after a couple of years.
Very important here: Bronco Hinek always used these gold-colored slotted machine screws instead of standard Schutt mounting screws. He had brought a big bucket of them when he came to the 49ers from the Chargers. If you look at the Chargers helmets of the same era, you'll see the same screws being used to hold the masks on. I'm thinking that Sid Brooks liked them so Bronco, who worked under Brooks, just continued the practice when he came to the Niners. My helmets have them and I still have a small baggie of extras.
On the Schutt helmets, the 49ers used sweatband decals that say 49ers. You can find them on eBay today. But the original ones had square corners while todays decals have rounded corners. Be sure to look closely at any helmet that is claimed to be game used.
Bronco also used to write the players' name under the rear sizer in Sharpie. He had unique penmanship and you can recognize his writing if your familiar with it.
I hope this helps anyone looking at a helmet claimed to be game used. The last thing I want to see or hear about is anyone falling for a fake. Just too many of them out there.
Joe

[chd49er]

Re: 49ers Helmet Game Used???

Coffeebeanjoe, please shoot me an email!!!

Thanks,

Clay
cdubois@carolina.rr.com

ALWAYS BUYING 49ER GAMERS!!!!!!!!!!

[commando]

Re: 49ers Helmet Game Used???

I just picked this up... Has the "SF" logos on the side without the black outline around the letters, which I believe started around 1989. I'll look for more clues when I actually receive the item.