History of the football helmet gridiron until 1939 and were not made mandatory in the National Football League until 1943 As a side note, "the last NFL player to play in a game without a helmet was Dick Plasman an end for the Chicago Bears in 1940." There is a photograph of him without one taken during the 1940 NFL Championship Game in which Chicago defeated the Washington Redskins 73–0. Before the invention of the football helmet, players would often grow their hair long, because they believed it would protect their heads. The man largely credited with inventing the first helmet was George Barclay. In
1963 NFL Championship Game the NFL tried a closed-circuit telecast in the local blackout area, with 26,000 viewing on large screens in three locations: McCormick Place, International Amphitheatre, and Chicago Coliseum. Tickets ranged from $4 to Each player on the winning Bears team received about $6,000, while Giants players made around $4,200 each. Riger, Robert. "Best Plays of the Year: 1963." Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall. 1964. 1963 NFL Championship Game The 1963 National Football League Championship Game was the 31st annual championship game, played on December 29 at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois. The game pitted the visiting New York Giants (11–3) of