Rare SPALDING EXECUTIONER Football Mask

[vintagesportscollector]

Here is an image from Chris Hornung's football website, and the Tibi collection.

image.jpg

[pgellis]

No doubt, absolutely football.

[Duluth Eskimo]

So is this just a portion of those displays? Was this worn then the helmet on top or was it connected to the helmet?

[pgellis]

Originally Posted by Duluth Eskimo

So is this just a portion of those displays? Was this worn then the helmet on top or was it connected to the helmet?

Yes, this particular piece was strapped on your head and then you put your helmet over this.

[Huysmans]

Hey Joe and Ron,

I think some of the confusion regarding this mask stems from the fact that Clint Benedict wore a similar example due to an nose injury in 1930. Oh, I should point out for our Baseball-centric friends that Clint Benedict was a Hall of Fame goaltender in the 1910's/20's for the Ottawa Senators and Montreal Maroons. I would assume he wore an example of the type of football mask being discussed, but the fact that this early goaltender was known to have worn it, the obvious conclusion would be that it must be a "hockey" mask, hence the confusion and lack of intetest/knowledge among most collectors. As mentioned, this is just an assumption on my part.

Great looking football mask. Anyone who has not done so, I highly recommend visiting Antique footballs virtual museum mentioned above. The example of a ca. 1925 Goldsmith executioner helmet on Chris Hornung's site is one of the coolest pieces of sports equipment I've seen:

http://www.antiquefootball.com/virtu..._1920-1930.htm

[antiquefootball]

Hey guys,

Sorry I'm late to this discussion.

I mentioned this style mask on page 4 of my March 2015 article on the history of the football nose mask.

http://www.antiquefootball.com/nosemask_history.htm


These sole leather face guards were introduced in the early 1920's as a replacement for the rubber nosemask. Worn primarily by linemen susceptible to nose injuries, they don't come up for sale that often because they weren't particularly popular. They were uncomfortable, hot, and limited visibility.

While also unpopular, the executioner masks that came out in the mid-1920's were a better solution for players looking for face protection as they were positioned off of the face instead of directly on it.

I may do a more extensive write up on this mask as my November Artifact of the Month article.

Chris
www.antiquefootball.com