Vintage Ohio State Gem (Helmet)...

[Huron]

The documentation that accompanied the helmet confirmed that it was used in both 73 & 74, his Sophomore and Junior years...I guess you're allowed a new one at OSU if you win the Heisman.

Robert, It is the same piece that you saw on Karey's site and I was fortunate enough to meet with him when I made the purchase. A very nice person with an amazing collection. As you've (expertly) shown, the helmet can be photo matched and that gouge across the center stripe is pretty impressive. Here's a closer look...


Any more buckeye helmet images to share?

[buckeyegamers]

aeneas01 I will try to take some more pictures and post them. What is written in the helmet is Jack Bear Tatum. I've never heard of the nickname Bear for Tatum. Then it also has 58 written on another part of the webbing. The scratched out name appears to be York. Again I will try to get some clear pictures. Here is another Buckeyes helmet that I have had for a few years...don't know much about this one either.

[aeneas01]

aeneas01 I will try to take some more pictures and post them. What is written in the helmet is Jack Bear Tatum. I've never heard of the nickname Bear for Tatum. Then it also has 58 written on another part of the webbing. The scratched out name appears to be York. Again I will try to get some clear pictures. Here is another Buckeyes helmet that I have had for a few years...don't know much about this one either.

i believe tatum wore a macgregor while at ohio state and according to the buckeye's "all-time jersey by jersey number" no person named york ever made the roster (perhaps he was cut?). nonetheless it's a very nice helmet imo and i think you have a very nice collection of ohio state helmets including your helmet hut reproductions! fwiw, here's a link to the buckeye's all-time roster...

http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/fls...B_OEM_ID=17300

btw i found an interesting photo comparison when looking at griffin's 1974 helmet, the helmet guu member "huron" owns, that i haven't seen before - the addition of award decals over the course of a season...

the photos below show the same helmet during the 1974 season. first, the blue boxes compare the top facemask attachment method - the photo on the left shows the use of dungard slip-on covers while the photo on the right shows the facemask attached without these covers. other photos from 1974 show yet another attachment method incorporating vinyl washers, a method identical to the side facemask clips that can be seen in the photo below. one has to wonder why the attachment method changed so much over the course of the year. perhaps the slip-on covers tore and were replaced by vinyl washers. perhaps the vinyl washers took more abuse at the front of the helmet, didn't hold up, and were ditched in favor of using only screws (photo on the right). who knows, but interesting nonetheless...

the red circles make it easy to see that the award decals are identical on both helmets - notice that these decals (circled in red) are all upside down and positioned/rotated exactly the same. the yellow circles show the before and after of additional award decals - in the photo on the left the yellow circles are empty and represent where the additional decals will be added, the photo on the right shows the addition of the decals...




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[halzeus]

Those are some great helmets!!

And that's coming from a Michigan man.

Congrats on your pick ups.

[buckeyegamers]

aeneas01 , thank you for your help. I have a number of Ohio State reference books as well as a lot of useful information off of the OSU website and I haven't been able to find the name "York" as a letterman. The "Jack Bear Tatum" and the number "58" throw me a little as well. As most Buckeye fans know Tatum wore #32 in his 3 seasons (Freshmen were not allowed to play varsity at the time) for the Buckeyes. I have found that Rudy Smith wore #32 in 1966 and 1967 (Tatum's freshman year). I am left to wonder if perhaps the helmet could have been from Tatum's freshman year and might he have worn #58 that year....all speculation on my part. Another note, I can't find any pictures of Tatum every having worn that type of facemask. It doesn't appear to be a very strong type mask as it appears to be all plastic, however, it must be pretty strong as I believe it is the same type mask that Earl Campbell wore in his playing days at Texas.

Great points on your photo matching of the Griffin helmet. That is a beauty!!!

[yosef777]

Great Rawlings Headliners and Griffin helmets! From my research I agree that Tatum wore a Mac MH100 with an OPO mask. I included a new/old stock Gladiator that was made into a OSU/Griffin.

[yosef777]

BTW, I believe Griffin also switched facemasks in his senior year. From the DG 120 to the DG 125.

[yosef777]

Dunguard masks

[aeneas01]

BTW, I believe Griffin also switched facemasks in his senior year. From the DG 120 to the DG 125.

good call, griffin definitely sported both styles, but i believe he wore the 120 during his freshman and sophmore years ('72 & '73) and then switched for good to the 125 in 1974 - sports illustrated used a 1973 shot of griffin sporting his 120 on the cover of their 1974 college preview issue (september '74) which can cause confusion... then again, i could be off base!



here are a couple of ohio state gladiator helmets - the top one, a reproduction, is from a collector's website (i wish i could find the link again!). the guy has a ton of very, very nice reproductions (college and pro) - many are vintage gladiator helmets and many are equipped with dungards. the bottom photo is a shot of one that sold at auction which was signed by griffin...



a couple of shots of the "assassin" sporting his mac at ohio state...



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[Huron]

Robert, is it possible that the one that you've shown that sold at auction was signed (and worn) by RAY Griffin? His number was 44.