49ers Helmet Game Used???

[kudu]

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]

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]

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]

Coffeebeanjoe, please shoot me an email!!!

Thanks,

Clay
cdubois@carolina.rr.com

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

[commando]

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.