1898 Nose Guards Invented

In 1898 rubber nose guards are invented and sometimes worn by all eleven players on any given team. They were indeed a ferocious sight with the ends of their handle bar mustaches dangling from either side of that long, black, banana like mask, and their long hair flying in the breeze. Eventually, of course, the mustaches and beards vanished. Alonzo Stagg personally shaved his Chicago players. And Yale set a new hair style when the Elis appeared for a game with their heads close-cropped in the haircut that is standard today. The standard uniform then was a "smock" an affair invented by Ledou Smock of Princeton. It included a laced jacket5 with padded shoulders, and padded moleskin knee pants. Shin guards werte also worn, but helmets werte almost unknown. In 1903 Pop Warner introduced a knee guard made of soft wool felt. The Story Of Football by Robert Leckie