Y.A. Tittle's helmet

[skipcarayislegend]

Apparently this helmet's in the HOF. I'm sure those of you who've made it to Canton have probably seen this before, but I thought this helmet looked really cool. Not being a football collector, there were a couple things that surprised me about it. The first thing being how badly the helmet was broken. A crack's one thing, but the shell looks like it broke into two pieces. I'm also surprised that someone decided to keep it. I'm glad they did, but if NFL clubs were anything like most MLB clubs at the time, cracked helmets were usually trashed, were they not?

[mvandor]

Apparently this helmet's in the HOF. I'm sure those of you who've made it to Canton have probably seen this before, but I thought this helmet looked really cool. Not being a football collector, there were a couple things that surprised me about it. The first thing being how badly the helmet was broken. A crack's one thing, but the shell looks like it broke into two pieces. I'm also surprised that someone decided to keep it. I'm glad they did, but if NFL clubs were anything like most MLB clubs at the time, cracked helmets were usually trashed, were they not?

Unless there is a story to go with that helmet that makes it special, I would think they could have obtained a better one for display purposes.

[Dewey2007]

Maybe helmet is the one he was wearing prior to this famous photo being taken? Looks like he got clocked pretty good.

[WadeInBmore]

It definetely is the helmet that he was wearing when that photo was taken. I was in Canton when I was 13 and that display was awesome!!!! Its like a Y.A. Tittle shrine, complete with the helmet, oil paintings and still photographs. you can even see the blood stains on the inside of the helmet. Tittle got creamed during a play, if I'm not mistaken, and the result was a crushed helmet. I also feel as if the game was significant as well, although trying to recall finer details from a memory that is almost 15 years old is a task in and of itself. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

wade

[DrJ]

Yes, it is at the HOF. The HOF has some of coolest helmets (as you would expect). I remember seeing Payton's Wilson helmet, Joe Greene's clear-shell helmet, Tittle's broke helmet, etc. Definitely a place any football fan should visit. And of course, my trip was even better since it was paid for by my employer!!!

[mvandor]

It definetely is the helmet that he was wearing when that photo was taken. I was in Canton when I was 13 and that display was awesome!!!! Its like a Y.A. Tittle shrine, complete with the helmet, oil paintings and still photographs. you can even see the blood stains on the inside of the helmet. Tittle got creamed during a play, if I'm not mistaken, and the result was a crushed helmet. I also feel as if the game was significant as well, although trying to recall finer details from a memory that is almost 15 years old is a task in and of itself. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

wade

The placard in the pic does not specifically attribute the helmet to that hit/photo/play. Was there something elsewhere to tie it to the play that you saw when you were there? Anyone know? Just curious.

It almost looks like a helmet that was cut off a player, I never saw or heard of one of these even in those days splitting so badly. I know teams were cheap and kept them in circulation forever, but has anyone seen one split like a coconut before? Also, wondering why the facemask was removed or not at least replaced for display. IMHO, the HOF sometimes looks like it operates on a shoestring budget which nowadays shouldn't be the case.

[Nathan]

The placard in the pic does not specifically attribute the helmet to that hit/photo/play. Was there something elsewhere to tie it to the play that you saw when you were there? Anyone know? Just curious.

It almost looks like a helmet that was cut off a player, I never saw or heard of one of these even in those days splitting so badly. I know teams were cheap and kept them in circulation forever, but has anyone seen one split like a coconut before? Also, wondering why the facemask was removed or not at least replaced for display. IMHO, the HOF sometimes looks like it operates on a shoestring budget which nowadays shouldn't be the case.

Looking at the patterns of the crack, it looks like Tittle literally got earholed. There would be a tremendous amount of force exerted directly at the right earhole that resulted in two distinct cracks in such a manner.

One thing I wouldn't want to do is calculate the amount of force needed to do that. I guess I could find an old helmet and put it in a hydraulic log-splitter to see.