NO Saints Collectors Show Off Your Stuff!

[AKSaint]

In honor of the Saints running game that showed up last night against the Eagles, here is a vintage RB helmet worn by Wayne Wilson up to 1986 but with a green dot NOP DW facemask instead. Wilson was drafted out of Shepherd College in WV by the Houston Oilers in 1979 in the 12th round pick #324. He went on to play RB for the Saints from 1979 to 1986 but was often the backup to Earl Campbell. He was the teams all-purpose yardage leader in 1982 and 1983 and set the team record for rushing with 160 yards on 34 carries on Oct 2, 1983. After leaving the Saints, he had a short stint with the Vikings before retiring in 1987 while a Redskin.

It appears that during the 1987 NFL strike replacement games, this helmet with it's current facemask, may have been worn by Vincent Alexander. He was an undrafted RB out of University of Southern Mississippi. From photo research, it seems like the Saints pretty much did away with the NOP DW facemasks for the running backs in 1987 in favor of the style of mask on the helmet now. Vincent only played one game for the Saints but reserves his place in history as noted in this link:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2...in-nfl-history

The Strike team had several nicknames including the New Orleans Saint Elsewheres but played well and had a 2 - 1 record when the strike ended. The Saints finished with the second best record in the NFL at 12 -3, thanks in part to the replacement players that have all but been forgotten. The 49ers won the NFC West at 13-2.

I find the whole episode of the 1987 replacement players in NFL history to be an amazing part of the game and am very glad to have stumbled upon this helmet. Heck, without the Strike, Sean Payton would not have been QB for the Bears and may never have ended up coaching the Saints! How about that for a game changer.

Enjoy,

Bob Gengler