Mark Mullaney of the NFL's Minnesota Vikings is thought to have been the first to utilize a protective visor in 1984, to shield a healing eye injury. He is reported to have done so after being injured in a game against the Chicago Bears.
The quarterback mask has long been a part of football equipment. Modern versions typically include a hard plastic shell that covers the player's entire face except for their eyes. They are usually colored red or white and feature several small holes for breathing and vision.
Their use is thought to have originated with Mark Mullaney, who suffered an eye injury in October 1984 while playing for the Minnesota Vikings. The team's backup quarterback at the time, Mullaney wore a protective visor when he took the field for the last quarter of that season's game against the Chicago Bears. The next year, he became the first person to play under the new rules that permitted him to wear a helmet with a face mask stipulating that he could not see where he was going on offense or what defense his opponents were lining up in. Prior to this rule change, quarterbacks had no way of knowing this information and thus were forced to rely solely on hearing their name called during plays to get into position for next week's game.
Neeld, Greg After losing vision in one eye as a result of the event, the British Columbian league player designed the visor for protection. After suffering an eye injury in the 1970s, Greg Neeld became the first professional hockey player to wear a visor. The early models were made of leather and had a covering on the top that looked like a baseball cap. They were not very effective in preventing injuries because they did not cover the sides of the head.
Hockey players have used protective equipment since it began. The first mask used in today's games was developed by Frank J. Selke in 1956. He called his design the "flip-up mask" because it could be flipped up when not in use. It was actually made of plastic and painted black with red trim. It covered the face completely but wasn't comfortable to wear because there were no straps or padding under the chin.
In 1962, Frank J. Selke gave another design for a mask to Harold Britton. This mask had earflaps that folded down over the ears and a flexible plastic shield that snapped into place over the eyes. It was more comfortable to wear and less expensive to produce than the flip-up mask. Today's standard mask has many similarities to the one designed by Harold Britton. It covers the entire head except for the nose and mouth, which are open holes through which air is pumped by a compressor at each rink.
Visors The visor, or eye shield, is a relatively recent addition to the football helmet, which is attached to the face mask to protect players from glare or eye injuries, such as pokes. Before their introduction in the 1950s, players wore dark glasses or sunglasses to protect themselves from injury and/or death due to blindness.
There are two types of visors used in football: full-face and partial. Full-face visors cover the entire face, except for the area around the nose, while partial visors only cover part of the face. Partial visors are usually used by defensive players to help them see more clearly when making tackles or guarding against running backs who might slip through the line of scrimmage with a ball carrier.
The first recorded instance of a football player wearing a protective visor occurred on September 5, 1947, when Boston College's Bill Dudley wore one during a game against Holy Cross. However, it was not until the mid-1950s that visors became common among NFL players. By the late 1950s, every major college program had adopted them, with most beginning to use them regularly by the early 1960s.
Today, nearly all NFL players wear some type of visor during games.
Harvard's All-American center, John Cranston, was the first player in an American football game to wear facial protection. Harvard captain and 1889 All-American Arthur Cumnock created a gadget he termed "nose armor" to protect Cranston's "weak nose." The armor consisted of a small metal plate that was attached to his helmet with screws.
Cranston suffered only minor injuries in the game against Yale, but he inspired other players to wear protective gear. In 1892, an Englishman named William Gilbert Ward invented a leather mask called a "cheek protector" to help shield players from being hit by baseballs/kicks. But it wasn't until 1904 that any type of protective device became popular among American football players. That year, Chicago College Athletic Association (CCAA) president Henry L. Williams ordered some leather helmets for its players. These early helmets lacked any form of face protection, so Williams had plastic guards installed on them. This is considered the first time in an American college football game that any type of facial protection was used.
The use of protective gear has evolved over time. Today, nearly all NFL players wear some type of headgear when they play. They range from simple hockey helmets to more advanced devices used by defensive backs. Some colleges have chosen not to require their players to wear gear because they believe it limits their ability to move around on the field.
A visor is a tiny, curved piece of material, usually made of plastic, that is attached to football players' masks, helmets, shields, and so on. This is often a robust plastic substance that can sustain impact while maintaining an optical class 1 surface. Visors are primarily there to protect the player's eyes from foul play such as foul shots and flying balls.
There are two types of visors used in football: full face and partial. A full-face visor covers the entire face, while a partial visor leaves either the upper or lower portion exposed.
Full-face visors are generally more protective than partial ones because they cover more area of the head. This means that a full-face visor will reduce the chance of you being injured by a blow to the head.
However, partial visors are useful in certain situations. For example, if a player is taking a lot of foul shots then a full-face visor would be too much protection for their eyes. Thus, they would need to wear a partial visor.
Also, full-face visors can be cumbersome to wear because you cannot see out of them. This can be problematic if a player needs to check his helmet's pressure or not enough time remains in a game.
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