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1940's Green Bay Packers Game Worn Helmet....
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Description
Ultra-rare style with original "cow catcher" face mask!
1940's Green Bay Packers Game Worn Helmet. Extraordinary
rarity dates to the last decade of team founder Curly Lambeau's
stewardship of the team he led from obscurity and insolvency to the
pinnacle of achievement in gridiron professionalism. The Packers
would claim its sixth NFL Championship since its founding in 1944,
propelled to glory by such Hall of Fame immortals as Don Hutson and
Tony Canadeo, when this yellow painted leather format was
Titletown's standard issue. It's entirely possible that this helmet
was present at the December 17th contest at the Polo Grounds in
uptown Manhattan, where the sleepy town of Green Bay played the
role of David to the Giants of New York City.Check virtually any photographic image of the Packers from that decade and you'll find this unique style, the stamped "Packers" at the forehead the most instantly recognizable trait. The "Wilson" brand helmet features an eight-spoke internal suspension where number "80" appears in vintage black ink, suggesting possible ownership by one or more of the halfbacks who wore the digits during that era: Herm "Stumpy" Rohrig, Fred Provo and Floyd "Breezy" Reid.
The rubber-coated metal "cow catcher" face mask would suggest the helmet saw action near the end of the decade, as it was in the closing seasons of the 1940's that they'd first appear, though face masks wouldn't become mandatory until 1955. Remarkably, the battle-scarred mask is attached to its leather shell by sturdy twine rather than metal fasteners.
Solid game wear is evident throughout but the relic survives without any of the rotting or water damage common to leather helmets of this advanced vintage. It's an absolute showpiece for the advanced Green Bay Packers collector, a mute witness to the adolescence of the National Football League. LOA from Heritage Auctions.
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