$30,000 Namath Helmet?

[aeneas01]

Re: $30,000 Namath Helmet?

and what about this $1,500 "1985 joe washington game-worn, signed falcons helmet" sold by ami? i guess if a player scribbles his name on a lid then, just like that, it becomes his gamer, eh?

although washington did wear a clear shell helmet throughout his career, and the ami helmet is indeed a clear shell helmet, most helmet collectors know that washington was a kelley clear shell guy, not a maxpro clear shell guy. and the $1,500 ami helmet is a maxpro...





here are a couple of 1985 photos of washington in action during his final year, and his only year with the falcons... clearly, no pun intended, not a maxpro, but a kelley - just like what he wore when at oklahoma, san diego, baltimore and washington...



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[kingjammy24]

Re: $30,000 Namath Helmet?

$56,500 worth of bad helmets thus far. any bets to see if $100k can be reached?

rudy.

[kingjammy24]

Re: $30,000 Namath Helmet?

easier to keep track with a fun gauge! watch the needle move with each bad helmet!



rudy.

[yosef777]

Re: $30,000 Namath Helmet?

The photos of Joe Washington with his Falcons / Kelley helmet looks like the decals and stripes are on top of the shell? (The stripes are covering the center holes on top of the shell.)
The same AMI auction that had the Falcons / MaxPro also had Joe's Colts / Kelley helmet. This 'gamer' had the Colt decal and stripe on top of the shell and a white, Schutt OPO mask not his usual Riddell two bar.

[yosef777]

Re: $30,000 Namath Helmet?

Here is the Joe Washington Colts /Kelley I mentioned

[yosef777]

Re: $30,000 Namath Helmet?

My fault, I just realized I confused the Helmet Hut Joe Washington Colts / Kelley which has the decals and stripe on top of the shell. The AMI has the decals and stripe under the shell. I included the Helmet Hut photos below.

[helmets]

Re: $30,000 Namath Helmet?

here's a $12,000 doozie...



the lot description states that the helmet is a "1974-75 bob griese game-worn dolphins helmet". below are game photos of griese during the 1973, 1974 and 1975 seasons - not a wilson in the bunch. obviously tons more exist of this well photographed hall of famer, easily accessible to anyone interested, and not one i've come across shows griese sporting a wilson.



and how about this - the photo on the left is the ami helmet and the photo on the right is yet another wilson f-2101 griese "gamer" that sold at both leland's and grey flannel for around $3,500. however this one was listed as a 1968-70 griese "gamer" - this is particularly interesting given that wilson didn't introduce the f-2101 until the mid '70s afaik. and like the $12,000 ami helmet, the $3,500 helmet has griese's sig as well....



so what are we up to? namath $30,000, buchanan $4,500, griese $12,000, other griese $3,500 x 2 = over $50,000 smackaroos... ouch.

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Psst...
Anyone got an old Dungard laying around???
Notice the large oversize numbers on the rear...
Never drilled for a mask.

[yosef777]

Re: $30,000 Namath Helmet?

Further proof/confirmation on the Griese / Wilson 'gamer' from the 1977 Wilson catalog page for the F2101. Notice the new for 77 logo, which I can confirm it was indeed new as it was NOT in the 1976 Wilson catalog.

[aeneas01]

Re: $30,000 Namath Helmet?

...Schutt OPO mask not his usual Riddell two bar.

the thing is, washington did sport an opo mask for a very brief time when with the colts, although i've never been able to dig up a game photo. however he can be seen wearing an opo during arguably the best game of his career which took place on monday night football - i believe that the game can be found on youtube or at nfl films' website...

Further proof/confirmation on the Griese / Wilson 'gamer' from the 1977 Wilson catalog page for the F2101. Notice the new for 77 logo, which I can confirm it was indeed new as it was NOT in the 1976 Wilson catalog.

but i guess if you were an nfl superstar you could get your hands on it a little early! stabler in 1976...

Psst... Anyone got an old Dungard laying around??? Notice the large oversize numbers on the rear... Never drilled for a mask.

dang, those numbers look familiar!



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[aeneas01]

Re: $30,000 Namath Helmet?

easier to keep track with a fun gauge! watch the needle move with each bad helmet!



rudy.

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[beantown]

Re: $30,000 Namath Helmet?

Since helmets are being added to this thread, I would love to hear the thoughts on this Bradshaw Maxpro from Heritage Auctions a couple of years ago...

[helmets]

Re: $30,000 Namath Helmet?

dang, those numbers look familiar!



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Is there any helmet that you do not have a photo of? I think I am going to start posting only half photos and then you can paste the other half to it...

[aeneas01]

Re: $30,000 Namath Helmet?

Since helmets are being added to this thread, I would love to hear the thoughts on this Bradshaw Maxpro from Heritage Auctions a couple of years ago...

i think that helmet might actually post date bradshaw, a nice maxpro but i doubt it's a bradshaw gamer. btw i believe that maxpro helmets worn by steelers players in the '70s and very early '80s were typically fitted with exterior side "steelers" decals although the center stripe was factory applied below the shell. in fact i don't think bradshaw ever wore a maxpro with side decals applied below the shell, which is what was sold at the heritage auction. anyway i'm sure there's a story behind this, behind why the steelers didn't have their decals applied below the shell during that time, something that was pretty much standard with maxpro helmets.

around 1983 or so, post bradshaw, it seems that the steelers began issuing maxpro helmets with the side decal applied below the shell on a regular basis - if you look at game photos from the mid '80s on, most steelers players sporting maxpros have the decal applied below the shell. this wasn't the case in the '70s, very early '80s. also, the maxpro side decal was a little different than the exterior decals the steelers used on their other helmets, among other things the border was beefier, which can be seen in the auction helmet...


here are some game photos of bradshaw that span the years in which he wore a maxpro...




here are closeups of the above photos, in the same order, showing the decals...




now here's a look at the maxpro decal, the auction decal - quite a difference imo...



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[beantown]

Re: $30,000 Namath Helmet?

Robert...you got it!

Of all the Bradshaw photos I have, I don't have one of him with the Steelers logo under the clear shell...also, notice the difference on the front #1....

[aeneas01]

Re: $30,000 Namath Helmet?

Robert...you got it!

Of all the Bradshaw photos I have, I don't have one of him with the Steelers logo under the clear shell...also, notice the difference on the front #1....

so it was a riddle?

re: the difference in font, these seem to match up well....



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