GU Football Helmet Ramblings...

[aeneas01]

came across this great looking site hosted by a guy that collects game used items from heisman trophy winners. his game used helmets look pretty damn good, so much so that i gave him a call to discuss a couple of them. we had a great chat, his name is kerry, and he's been collecting for a very long time. he's also a veteran when it comes to attending sports memorabilia shows, dealing with the major sports memorabilia auction houses (a few great stories) and he knows a ton of people (players, dealers and collectors) in the biz. anyway, he came across as a very nice guy and i invited him to join the forum.

as far as his game used helmets are concerned, as i mentioned they look pretty darn good - his herschel walker may be the first authentic hw gamer i've come across (have looked at several very impressive knockoffs but they all failed the authenticity test upon close inspection). the preliminary info he gave me about the lid over the phone jives very nicely, hopefully the rest of info he emails will as well. his archie griffin looks very nice as well, a classic gladiator fitted with a dungard dg125, consistent with what ag wore while at ohio. for those interested, here's a link to his site:

http://heismanheros.com/game%20used%20items.htm


http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y238/aeneas1/ht.jpg



here's a joint in glendale arizona called max's restaurant and sports bar - apparently they have close to 1,000 game used helmets on display which, purportedly, is the largest such display in the country. although the photo is not very clear, it's apparent that there are some real gems in this particular display area - gotta love the navy dungard on the michigan lid, the oklahoma clear shell, the rawlings hnd9's, etc. - if any forum member happens to live in the area, i'll pick up your lunch tab if you would be knd enough to pay the place a visit and take some quality photos!


http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y238/aeneas1/max.jpg


here's a dorsett "gamer" that has surfaced yet again. ebay crook "vintageksusports" once owned this helmet and listed it on ebay - it sold for $445. it's currently being listed by an ebay clearance store - the type of outfit that will sell your stuff on ebay for you. rather suspicious imo - i wouldn't be at all surprised if the ebay crook won his own auction and has now relisted the helmet using this outfit in an effort to disguise his identity. anyway, it's actually a beautiful, rare lid - just not dorsett's. in fact, "vintagekusports" has (or had) a bunch of beautiful lids - his problem was he just couldn't resist misrepresenting them for few extra bucks. fwiw this rawlings helmet is dated 1984 and it's an rts model - dorsett stopped wearing a rawlings lid after the 1980 season. further, he was known to have worn a rawlings hnd9 model not an rts. an interesting note - like earl campbell, once dorsett switched from a rawlings to a riddell he continued to sport the rawlings "r" on the back of his riddell helmet for a short while due to a contract agreement. this can be seen on the 12.07.81 sports illustrated cover.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=320317958956

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y238/aeneas1/ebay01.jpg


a forum member recently pmed about the current lots at historic auctions - all i can say is good grief. honest mistakes are one thing, but a complete and total lack of effort is something entirely different - honestly, this place takes the cake...

a game used broncos lid? how about a toy.


http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y238/aeneas1/ha1.jpg


a vintage, game used giants lid? how about a helmet from the least expensive replica helmet line ever manufactured by riddell. oh yeah, historic auctions also has brady "gamer" listed as well...


http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y238/aeneas1/ha2.jpg


the folks at helmet hut have dug up a real gem - a vintage riddell tk5 suspension helmet with factory applied exterior padding. most vintage helmet collectors know that this sort of exterior padding was offered by a couple of other helmet manufactures back in the day, macgregor being the most well known for this feature (gene upshaw). anyway it was quickly determined that the padding created a protrusion that actually caused as much harm as good - it did indeed offer increased impact protection but the protrusion also minimized the protective deflection qualities of a round shell.

http://www.helmethut.com/Features/TK5padded.html


http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y238/aeneas1/Padded3.jpg

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[commando]

Simply amazing... Thanks for the November "magazine!"

[DrJ]

That place in Arizona looks impressive - it would almost be worth a visit to the town just to see that. Thanks for all the info and pics.

I had a Cowboys helmet just like that one, same style, same mask style, same year, screws on top of the stripes....but mine didn't have a name on back when I sold it.

[DrJ]

That place in Arizona looks impressive - it would almost be worth a visit to the town just to see that. Thanks for all the info and pics.

I had a Cowboys helmet just like that one, same style, same mask style, same year, screws on top of the stripes....but mine didn't have a name on back when I sold it.

And for clarity sake let me say that I'm not saying that is the same helmet. Just pointing out that I owned one and maybe should have kept it due to it being rare, but it didn't fit my collecting scope (I like helmets with player id so I know who wore it).

[aeneas01]

That place in Arizona looks impressive - it would almost be worth a visit to the town just to see that. Thanks for all the info and pics.

I had a Cowboys helmet just like that one, same style, same mask style, same year, screws on top of the stripes....but mine didn't have a name on back when I sold it.

yeah, i agree - for football helmet junkies the arizona sports bar would be worth a special trip! as far as the "dorsett" helmet is concerned, i don't think you implied that it was the same helmet - all good! but these rawlings rts lids are nice and were worn at the pro level - relatively rare but not as nice nor as rare as a rawlings hnd9 imho (and not nearly as rare as a rawlings hnd9 ridge helmet!).

the person that faked the "dorsett" lid should have done their homework; it would have been much more convincing if they would have claimed it had once belonged to herschel walker. here he is sporting the exact same type of helmet on the cover of sports illustrated - is he laughing at the forger? too bad that "33" in black magic marker is going to be a little tough to eliminate completely...


http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y238/aeneas1/198601.png

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[Vintagedeputy]

I know of a place that has quite a few college helmets on display - maybe I should give them a visit and shoot some pics..