Someone's Holy Grail: Early to Mid 1960s Minnesota Vikings Helmet

[miracleonice80]

Great pic.....Im now thinking that maybe this helmet made it to the '69 season....he wore a RK that season......I just gotta see if he wore a husky or regular RK that year......I think this helmet was around in '64-'65.....then, reconditioned for late 60's.....He didnt wear an RK from 1970 and on.....or, at least I am 99.9% sure he didnt......Tony

[bgakladd]

Hey, guys.....yeah, it is fun to research this stuff.....my helmet is obviously an RK version.....so you can eliminate the TK '70's versions....and dungards. If this helmet goes back to 1964-65, I think a butterfly/clip mask first was on it.....then maybe a clip only mask in 1966ish may have been put on.....looks like he wore a TK in '68, an RK in '69 and then back to TK in '70. The date code inside the helmet must have rubbed off......cant find it. Still some mystery surrounding this one......Tony

I am taking a stab at the year on this one since there is no date you can find but look at the back of the helmet. It had the cursive ELL in Riddell logo imprinted into the shell on the bottom left side. It looks like it was repainted at one time with lacquer paint and then the newer italic type font put on top the old Riddell logo if it was reconditioned. What year did they switch the font?? 1967? If it was, then I'm guessing a 1966 helmet, like you mentioned. If so that would explain the font change on back and the facemask clip impression and outline rubbing into the paint along with the aging outline. Is the Riddell font on top stamped in or a stencil type?

[bgakladd]

Great pic.....Im now thinking that maybe this helmet made it to the '69 season....he wore a RK that season......I just gotta see if he wore a husky or regular RK that year......I think this helmet was around in '64-'65.....then, reconditioned for late 60's.....He didnt wear an RK from 1970 and on.....or, at least I am 99.9% sure he didn't......Tony

Here is his 1969 Pro Bowl RK helmet that was sold by MEARSONLINE auction. The number identifier inside is close to yours. Look at the heavy use of the suspension webbing compared to yours. This definitely was a multiple season game worn helmet. Shows the outline of old Vikings decal. Was this one his 1969 helmet??? Need to find out when yours was last used from the time it was repainted till it was taken from use because of the crack on the side. If yours isn't his 1969, looking at 1966-68 years for final use on yours???

[miracleonice80]

Ok....great points.....this is gonna be fun. Gotta put the pieces together....let's try and get the facts that we know for sure, no matter how obvious.

1. Gray interior/RK shell is 1960's
2. He did not wear an RK shell in the 1970's
3. Has clip marks on front to say that a mask other than a butterfly/clip was used(in addition to the butterfly clip)
4. Has the red tape identifier #53
5. Same tape wrap pattern on the suspension system as the Mears helmet
6. The "newer" Riddell stamping on back of helmet has been seen as early as 1969 on films.....(1969 Vikings highlights on #84 Henderson helmet)
7. Films/pics that I have seen from 1968 have him wearing an NJOP clip on mask with a TK shell
8. 1969 season has him wearing an RK shell with a NJOP mask clip on.....
9. 1965/1966 films/pics has him wearing an NOP mask(the pic with him and the Browns' #13 Ryan is from May 1966 with NOP mask with butterfly clip)
10. 1966 also looks like he wears an NJOP mask with butterfly clip
11. Minimal wear on the suspension webbing says maybe he used for a season or less before it cracked? Taking the clip marks into consideration, of course.....
Gotta figure out when the newer Riddell font came to be.....67? 68? 69?
We can eliminate the 70's at least....this helmet was worn in the 1960's. back to research......lol. Thanks for chiming in, fellas.....Tony

[commando]

I'm not an expert on vintage helmets, but it would seem like the suspension could easily be replaced if needed during the off-season yearly servicing. So the suspension was most likely used by Tingelhoff for a while, but not necessarily the entire life of the helmet.

On a side note, those RK2 models were workhorses.... But a crack on a facemask hole - like yours - was usually the kiss of death that took these gems out of service. And of course it was that very crack that allowed someone to take this lid home as a souvenir! (But the Vikes likely kept the facemask if it was still serviceable.)

[miracleonice80]

Lots of variables.....man, this will be tough. He changed styles of helmets and masks a lot. I really wanna put on a 1960's style mask on it when its all said and done. The holes on the front are slightly off-line....maybe it never had a butterfly clip style mask.....since the holes would need to be lined up pretty straight......just a thought. Tony

[bgakladd]

Lots of variables.....man, this will be tough. He changed styles of helmets and masks a lot. I really wanna put on a 1960's style mask on it when its all said and done. The holes on the front are slightly off-line....maybe it never had a butterfly clip style mask.....since the holes would need to be lined up pretty straight......just a thought. Tony

This the mask I would find along with the gray clips.......

[miracleonice80]

Wow.....do you see what I see on the last pic you sent with the dark jersey? The holes seem to be a little off-line on the front....much like mine. Interesting....RK helmet, holes identical, could have had the double stamping on the back from reconditioning and the helmet shows clip outlines on the front.....maybe a match? Oh, and it is a regular RK, not a husky....1 inch ridge on the top of the helmet......Tony

[bgakladd]

Google search "1966 NJOP clip on face mask" That is what I think the correct year period mask should be. Helmet Hut has them. I don't know if the mask he wore was xlarge in size or not. It looks big. Hoping this helps to give you the mid 60's look.

[bgakladd]

Tony....is your helmet a husky??? If so, I found something.....