Pro Football Hall Of Fame, a football history site, says “the date was November 12, 1892, a day that would forever be etched in sports history.” This was that day that the first pro football game was played. It was between the Allegheny Athletic Association and the Pittsburgh Athletic Club.  Since then important advancements have been made, especially regarding the safety of the gear.  

In the 1900’s helmets were rare and when they were worn, they were made of soft leather and covered the ears, making communication difficult and offering little protection. Livestrong, a food, fitness and health website, states “between 1915 and 1917, the first protection helmets were introduced.” These helmets fixed the issue of the ears being covered by having holes over the ears. They also featured support to keep the helmets from being against the player’s head. The holes over the ears helped the communication issue but these helmets still did very little to protect the head. These helmets protected from the pain of impact, but not against concussions. They remained relatively the same besides added extra padding until the late 1930’s. Plastic helmets were introduced in the mid 1900’s, helmets were also made mandatory by the NFL at this time. Chemistry Is Life, a website showing the chemistry of various items, says that today the body of football helmets are made of Polycarbonate, Synthetic Rubber, and Polyurethane, with a Titanium facemask. This is the most effective protection, so far, to best protect players heads on the field.

Shoulderpads were not used until the 1950’s. Livestrong says that before then players would be made fun of for using any padding under their uniforms. This gave risks to damaging collarbones and shoulder blades. 10 years later, plastic pads were introduced to better protect players. In the 2000’s, synthetic fibers started being used for easier performance. Today they are made of plastic with foam padding, giving the easiest performance while still being protected.

These advancements are very important to the safety of the players. Manufacturers are continuing to improve these pieces of equipment to keep players safe.