Big Buffalo Bills collector. Was recently in Buffalo for their game vs Pittsburgh this year. I made a visit to the "Big Tree In". If your a buffalonian or a Bills fan you will know the Big Tree as a bar down the road from their stadium that a lot of the 90's Bills used to frequent and still do. Same bar Rex Ryan went to and drank beers and ate wings with Kelly and Thurman after he was hired. Anyway, they have lots of game used jerseys framed throughout the bar. As I was having a beer I notice a Thurman helmet behind the bar. I offered the bartender to buy the helmet. She says she can't sell it so I ask if the owner is there and she says he's sitting next to you. So I offfer him x amount of dollars for the helmet and after some deep thought and to the shagrin of his son sitting next to him he sells it to me.
I've been trying to photo match it to a game but am having no luck. This is what I know about the helmet.
The face mask is one Thurman only wore from 1988-1990 and for the first few games of 1991. He then switched to a very similar mask for the rest of his career.
There is no back Riddell pad under the back lip of the helmet, just a Bills sticker that they added to the helmet in 1990. But Thurman always had that Riddell pad on his helmet.
The warning sticker on the back is white. All the warning stickers I have seen on his helmets from 88-90 were clear. He did have a white warning sticker on his helmet in 1992 but he wore the different mask that year.
Two reconditioning stickers can be seen inside the helmet. One is worn off and can't see the year. The other says recertified 1990, which means it was receritied after the 89 season.
Here is my conclusion. Was this maybe a practice helmet during the 1990 season, which was the Bills first super bowl season? Not sure if they had practice helmets then. The rare face mask (worn only for three years, 34 stickers on the back, 1990 recertification stricker inside, and who and where I obtained it tell me it's a legit Thurman helmet. Just trying to figure out the origin of the helmet. Pictures are posted below. Any thoughts would be great!
I've been trying to photo match it to a game but am having no luck. This is what I know about the helmet.
The face mask is one Thurman only wore from 1988-1990 and for the first few games of 1991. He then switched to a very similar mask for the rest of his career.
There is no back Riddell pad under the back lip of the helmet, just a Bills sticker that they added to the helmet in 1990. But Thurman always had that Riddell pad on his helmet.
The warning sticker on the back is white. All the warning stickers I have seen on his helmets from 88-90 were clear. He did have a white warning sticker on his helmet in 1992 but he wore the different mask that year.
Two reconditioning stickers can be seen inside the helmet. One is worn off and can't see the year. The other says recertified 1990, which means it was receritied after the 89 season.
Here is my conclusion. Was this maybe a practice helmet during the 1990 season, which was the Bills first super bowl season? Not sure if they had practice helmets then. The rare face mask (worn only for three years, 34 stickers on the back, 1990 recertification stricker inside, and who and where I obtained it tell me it's a legit Thurman helmet. Just trying to figure out the origin of the helmet. Pictures are posted below. Any thoughts would be great!
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