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
History of the Chicago Bears so retained their status as the lone team to have ever had a perfect season. Chicago afterwards produced a music video called "The Super Bowl Shuffle". The Bears were also divided, as Head Coach Mike Ditka and Defensive Coordinator Buddy Ryan did not see eye to eye. In the Divisional Playoffs the Bears played the New York Giants, shutting them out 21–0, on a bitterly cold and windy afternoon. The Bears then faced the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship Game. This game too was a shutout, the score being 24–0. The "Monsters of the Midway" advanced to the