yeah it was a great design/look but i imagine the plastic version was horrible when it came to deflecting blows given such large protruding surface areas - could be that's what contributed to the sinking of the very short-lived plastic version. i believe helmet-to-helmet contact was much less during the leather days but once the plastic lids were introduced the head became more of a weapon and, as such, effective deflection a concern...
the top right photo shows the eagles bench wearing the leather version of this helmet - notice the paint scheme which incorporated the leather panels of the helmet. the top left photo (boxed in red) shows an eagles' player sporting a riddell plastic helmet with the same paint scheme despite the fact that the plastic helmet didn't have the same leather panels. the eagles simply transferred the same panel/seam based design from their leather helmets to their plastic helmets just as the michigan wolverines (and other teams) did. notre dame was probably best known for sporting this type of helmet - the leather version.

here's a look as several different color schemes of the leather version - both macgregor and rawlings produced this style of helmet but imo the macgregor is the real classic!

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