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Are you ready to learn more about the history of the hitting helmet than you ever wanted to know. If so... read on. If not…run for the hills.
Although not mandatory, and it wouldn’t be until 1954, the Brooklyns announce on this date in 1941 their players will begin to wear helmets when batting. Here’s a little history on the batting helmet, something we all take for granted but took decades to progress to what we’re used to seeing these days:
1905 - Frank P. Mogridge, of Pennsylvania, is granted a patent for a "Head Protector". It was a "goofy-looking device that resembled a boxing glove wrapped around the batter's head". It was marketed by the A.J. Reach Company as the "Reach Pneumatic Head Protector for Batters." And sold gor $5.00 at the time. It was "pneumatic" in that the player had to blow it up for it to work.
1907 / 1908 – In the summer of 1907 Future Hall of Famer Roger Bresnahan, inventor of the catcher's shin guards and other devices, is beaned and lay unconscious for several hours before recovering. It’s announced that he will wear the Mogridge device when he returns to play but he dabbles on his own with a design and developes a leather batting helmet in 1908 which he began using. The helmet was not so much helmet as they were protective earmuffs which did not protect the actual head of the batter but rather protected the ear and temple region.
1920’s & 1930’s – Despite the fatal beaning of Ray Chapman in 1920 it was more a case of talk than action when it come to batting helmets. On May 25, 1937, Hall of Fame catcher Mickey Cochrane, then the Player-Manager of the Detroit Tigers, is hit in the head by a pitch from the Yankees' Bump Hadley. The pitch fractures his skull in three parts, ending his career. Though he is not killed, this acts as another wake-up call to baseball, and some action is actually taken this time. Cochrane is asked a month later if he thinks batters should be forced to wear helmets. "Absolutely," he says. Within the week, Connie Mack, Manager of the Philadelphia Athletics, experiments with polo helmets (see article). On June 1, 1937, Athletics and Indians players test the helmets in batting practice. There is no evidence that they actually wore the helmets in the game, though. That same week, the Des Moines Demons of the Western League experiment with polo helmets in a game. They don't seem to take.
1940 - Brooklyn's Pee Wee Reese and Joe Medwick are both victims of dangerous beanings, as is the Giants' Billy Jurges. In response to this, the National League meets at the All-Star break to discuss helmets. Leauge President Ford Frick introduces a helmet he claims to have had a hand in designing to be mandated. Pee Wee Reese claims that he was the first player to wear a batting helmet, and that he did so in 1940 after getting beaned by Jake Mooty but there is no evidence to support this.
1941 - This a busy year for the helmet. On February 5, 1941, a Canadian newspaper, eh, reported that the National League had adopted a helmet for all clubs to try out in Spring Training. The helmet was designed by Dr. George Bennett, a Johns Hopkins University brain surgeon, apparently with help from Frick. This is the same helmet Frick introduced the year before. So on this date in 1941 the Brooklyn Dodgers announced that the team’s players would be wearing the helmets during regular season games. On April 26, 1941, the Washington Senators joined the Dodgers as teams with protective helmets. The Senators' helmets were sewn shut, though, unlike the Dodgers. On June 6, the Giants also began wearing protective caps. Their protective liners were made of plastic and sewn shut. By June 24, the Cubs were also among the helmeted or at least baseball cap lined helmets.
1942 - ***** Leaguer Willie Wells is often cited as the first player to wear a modern helmet in a game. The helmet that he wore was a modified construction worker's hard hat.
1953 - The first true helmet was developed by Charlie Muse at the behest of Pirate GM Branch Rickey. Muse was an executive with the club, and Rickey asked him to design and create a helmet that would protect the players' heads. Muse was appointed president of Rickey’s American Cap Company, and came up with the first modern-day helmet, based on a miner's hardhat. Of course, Rickey's company produced and sold them. The Pittsburgh Pirates became the first Major League team to permanently adopt batting helmets. And Rickey was serious about it. The Pirates were ordered to wear the helmets both at bat and in the field, though thankfully that idea only lasted a couple of seasons before the fielders could leave them in the dugout. At first, the Bucs weren't too crazy about them, and the fans got a hoot out of them too, bouncing marbles off the players' helmeted heads. But one play that year turned many players' attitudes around. A helmeted Paul Pettit, pinch-running for the Pirates against the Cubs, was speeding toward second base to break up a DP when the shortstop's bullet relay hit him squarely in the head. "All it did was dent the helmet, and he stayed in the game," recalled Joe Garagiola, "made believers out of everybody."
1960 - Jim Lemon became the first player to wear the new Little League helmet in a Major League game. These helmets were made with earflaps on both sides and were capable of withstanding a ball traveling at up to 120 miles per hour (190 km/h). One month later, Jim Piersall became the second player to wear the helmet in the Major Leagues.
1964 - Marked the first time a batting helmet had a pre-molded earflap when the Phillies Tony Gonzalez wore such a helmet after being hit with a pitch. Shortly after this, Major League Baseball adopted the use of a helmet with a pre-molded earflap. (Earl Battey had used used a makeshift one in 1961)
1971 - Helmets become mandatory in MLB. However, they had been in use for several years before the rule. In the 1950s and 1960s, many players batted without outer helmets, but used the Dodger-style plastic inserts inside their baseball caps. After 1971, players who were grandfathered could still choose whether or not they wanted to use a helmet. Some players, like Norm Cash and Bob Montgomery, hit without a helmet throughout their playing careers. Montgomery was the last of the helmetless dinosaurs, retiring in 1979.
1983 - It was made mandatory for new players to use a helmet with at least one earflap. Players who were grandfathered in could choose to wear a helmet without ear flaps. Players can choose to wear double earflap helmets in the Major Leagues; however, this is not mandatory. Tim Raines was the last player to wear a helmet without earflaps, during the 2002 season. His flap-less Florida Marlins helmet is currently at the Baseball Hall of Fame. Gary Gaetti, who retired in the year 2000, plus Ozzie Smith and Tim Wallach, who both retired in 1996, also wore flapless helmets until they retired from the game. Julio Franco, who retired from baseball in May 2008, was the last active player eligible to wear a helmet without flaps, but he chose to wear a helmet with an earflap throughout his career.
2005 - MLB test ran a new batting helmet for the first time in nearly three decades. At the All-Star Game in Detroit, players were seen wearing a new “molded crown” helmet that featured side vents, back vents and larger ear holes. The overall majority now wears these new helmets but there are still a few players who wear the older style helmet. That list includes Ryan Howard and Derek Jeter.
2009 - MLB decided to take action and protect players from the increasing number of concussions and head injuries. Rawlings came out with the S100 baseball helmet, named for its impact capabilities. It was able to withstand the impact of a baseball traveling at 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) from 2 feet (0.6 m) away. The other baseball helmets used are only required to withstand a 70 miles per hour (110 km/h) impact from 2 feet (0.6 m) away. The first MLB player to wear this helmet during a game was Ryan Dempster, pitcher for the Chicago Cubs at the time.The new helmet failed to catch on because the players said it made them look like bobbleheads. Some players, including Mets third baseman David Wright, did decide to use the helmet while batting. In 2013, per the new MLB-MLBPA Collective Bargaining Agreement, MLB players will be required to wear the new Rawlings S100 Pro Comp.
http://www.wezen-ball.com/images/stories/reese-1941.png
http://www.wezen-ball.com/images/stories/bustermills.jpg
http://www.wezen-ball.com/images/stories/reachhelmet.png
https://www.google.ca/search?q=vint...he-history-of-the-batting-helmet.html;762;987
https://www.google.ca/search?q=mode...3%2Fsports%2Fbaseball%2F13helmet.html;600;388
Although not mandatory, and it wouldn’t be until 1954, the Brooklyns announce on this date in 1941 their players will begin to wear helmets when batting. Here’s a little history on the batting helmet, something we all take for granted but took decades to progress to what we’re used to seeing these days:
1905 - Frank P. Mogridge, of Pennsylvania, is granted a patent for a "Head Protector". It was a "goofy-looking device that resembled a boxing glove wrapped around the batter's head". It was marketed by the A.J. Reach Company as the "Reach Pneumatic Head Protector for Batters." And sold gor $5.00 at the time. It was "pneumatic" in that the player had to blow it up for it to work.
1907 / 1908 – In the summer of 1907 Future Hall of Famer Roger Bresnahan, inventor of the catcher's shin guards and other devices, is beaned and lay unconscious for several hours before recovering. It’s announced that he will wear the Mogridge device when he returns to play but he dabbles on his own with a design and developes a leather batting helmet in 1908 which he began using. The helmet was not so much helmet as they were protective earmuffs which did not protect the actual head of the batter but rather protected the ear and temple region.
1920’s & 1930’s – Despite the fatal beaning of Ray Chapman in 1920 it was more a case of talk than action when it come to batting helmets. On May 25, 1937, Hall of Fame catcher Mickey Cochrane, then the Player-Manager of the Detroit Tigers, is hit in the head by a pitch from the Yankees' Bump Hadley. The pitch fractures his skull in three parts, ending his career. Though he is not killed, this acts as another wake-up call to baseball, and some action is actually taken this time. Cochrane is asked a month later if he thinks batters should be forced to wear helmets. "Absolutely," he says. Within the week, Connie Mack, Manager of the Philadelphia Athletics, experiments with polo helmets (see article). On June 1, 1937, Athletics and Indians players test the helmets in batting practice. There is no evidence that they actually wore the helmets in the game, though. That same week, the Des Moines Demons of the Western League experiment with polo helmets in a game. They don't seem to take.
1940 - Brooklyn's Pee Wee Reese and Joe Medwick are both victims of dangerous beanings, as is the Giants' Billy Jurges. In response to this, the National League meets at the All-Star break to discuss helmets. Leauge President Ford Frick introduces a helmet he claims to have had a hand in designing to be mandated. Pee Wee Reese claims that he was the first player to wear a batting helmet, and that he did so in 1940 after getting beaned by Jake Mooty but there is no evidence to support this.
1941 - This a busy year for the helmet. On February 5, 1941, a Canadian newspaper, eh, reported that the National League had adopted a helmet for all clubs to try out in Spring Training. The helmet was designed by Dr. George Bennett, a Johns Hopkins University brain surgeon, apparently with help from Frick. This is the same helmet Frick introduced the year before. So on this date in 1941 the Brooklyn Dodgers announced that the team’s players would be wearing the helmets during regular season games. On April 26, 1941, the Washington Senators joined the Dodgers as teams with protective helmets. The Senators' helmets were sewn shut, though, unlike the Dodgers. On June 6, the Giants also began wearing protective caps. Their protective liners were made of plastic and sewn shut. By June 24, the Cubs were also among the helmeted or at least baseball cap lined helmets.
1942 - ***** Leaguer Willie Wells is often cited as the first player to wear a modern helmet in a game. The helmet that he wore was a modified construction worker's hard hat.
1953 - The first true helmet was developed by Charlie Muse at the behest of Pirate GM Branch Rickey. Muse was an executive with the club, and Rickey asked him to design and create a helmet that would protect the players' heads. Muse was appointed president of Rickey’s American Cap Company, and came up with the first modern-day helmet, based on a miner's hardhat. Of course, Rickey's company produced and sold them. The Pittsburgh Pirates became the first Major League team to permanently adopt batting helmets. And Rickey was serious about it. The Pirates were ordered to wear the helmets both at bat and in the field, though thankfully that idea only lasted a couple of seasons before the fielders could leave them in the dugout. At first, the Bucs weren't too crazy about them, and the fans got a hoot out of them too, bouncing marbles off the players' helmeted heads. But one play that year turned many players' attitudes around. A helmeted Paul Pettit, pinch-running for the Pirates against the Cubs, was speeding toward second base to break up a DP when the shortstop's bullet relay hit him squarely in the head. "All it did was dent the helmet, and he stayed in the game," recalled Joe Garagiola, "made believers out of everybody."
1960 - Jim Lemon became the first player to wear the new Little League helmet in a Major League game. These helmets were made with earflaps on both sides and were capable of withstanding a ball traveling at up to 120 miles per hour (190 km/h). One month later, Jim Piersall became the second player to wear the helmet in the Major Leagues.
1964 - Marked the first time a batting helmet had a pre-molded earflap when the Phillies Tony Gonzalez wore such a helmet after being hit with a pitch. Shortly after this, Major League Baseball adopted the use of a helmet with a pre-molded earflap. (Earl Battey had used used a makeshift one in 1961)
1971 - Helmets become mandatory in MLB. However, they had been in use for several years before the rule. In the 1950s and 1960s, many players batted without outer helmets, but used the Dodger-style plastic inserts inside their baseball caps. After 1971, players who were grandfathered could still choose whether or not they wanted to use a helmet. Some players, like Norm Cash and Bob Montgomery, hit without a helmet throughout their playing careers. Montgomery was the last of the helmetless dinosaurs, retiring in 1979.
1983 - It was made mandatory for new players to use a helmet with at least one earflap. Players who were grandfathered in could choose to wear a helmet without ear flaps. Players can choose to wear double earflap helmets in the Major Leagues; however, this is not mandatory. Tim Raines was the last player to wear a helmet without earflaps, during the 2002 season. His flap-less Florida Marlins helmet is currently at the Baseball Hall of Fame. Gary Gaetti, who retired in the year 2000, plus Ozzie Smith and Tim Wallach, who both retired in 1996, also wore flapless helmets until they retired from the game. Julio Franco, who retired from baseball in May 2008, was the last active player eligible to wear a helmet without flaps, but he chose to wear a helmet with an earflap throughout his career.
2005 - MLB test ran a new batting helmet for the first time in nearly three decades. At the All-Star Game in Detroit, players were seen wearing a new “molded crown” helmet that featured side vents, back vents and larger ear holes. The overall majority now wears these new helmets but there are still a few players who wear the older style helmet. That list includes Ryan Howard and Derek Jeter.
2009 - MLB decided to take action and protect players from the increasing number of concussions and head injuries. Rawlings came out with the S100 baseball helmet, named for its impact capabilities. It was able to withstand the impact of a baseball traveling at 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) from 2 feet (0.6 m) away. The other baseball helmets used are only required to withstand a 70 miles per hour (110 km/h) impact from 2 feet (0.6 m) away. The first MLB player to wear this helmet during a game was Ryan Dempster, pitcher for the Chicago Cubs at the time.The new helmet failed to catch on because the players said it made them look like bobbleheads. Some players, including Mets third baseman David Wright, did decide to use the helmet while batting. In 2013, per the new MLB-MLBPA Collective Bargaining Agreement, MLB players will be required to wear the new Rawlings S100 Pro Comp.
http://www.wezen-ball.com/images/stories/reese-1941.png
http://www.wezen-ball.com/images/stories/bustermills.jpg
http://www.wezen-ball.com/images/stories/reachhelmet.png
https://www.google.ca/search?q=vint...he-history-of-the-batting-helmet.html;762;987
https://www.google.ca/search?q=mode...3%2Fsports%2Fbaseball%2F13helmet.html;600;388
