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
1940 NFL Championship Game to the team which had just beaten them, the Bears made an eleven-touchdown pile and used it as a pedestal to raise the NFL to view in all corners of the country... Pro football, the T-formation and the Chicago Bears were the sudden sports news of the year." "Sunday, December 8, 1940"<br> Kickoff: 1:30 p.m. EST The NFL had only four game officials in ; the back judge was added in , the line judge in , and the side judge in . Source: The net gate receipts from the sellout were over $102,000, a record, and each Bear player