cincibuck
You kids stay off my lawn!
WolverineMike;1872489; said:funny how it was actually debuted at Michigan State first.
The helmet was a result of manufacturing design. There were quite a few manufacturers in the 20's - 50's and most had a different, distinctive design that they used in stitching pieces of leather together. One manufacturer came up with a helmet in which the forehead area and the crown were cut and stitched in the same pattern that you see on today's Michigan helmet. If, like me, you grew up in the 50s you saw this helmet all the time, usually in red and light brown. It was a kids toy helmet, but it resembled the most popular pattern for leather helmets in the 40's. The same "wings" across the front, the same three stripes across the top.
At one point in time Ohio State used a helmet with a one piece "dome" of stiffened leather for the crown and the same kind of stitched pattern to form the the forehead, ears and back of the head. It looked to me as if the crown of the helmet was painted gray and the rest painted red. Looked like buckeye.
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