Pittsburgh Sports N'at

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Review: The 11 Coolest Helmets in Pro Football History
By MJD
Shutdown Corner is giddy to present it's list of the 11 Coolest Helmets in Professional Football History. There are no concrete qualifications for this list; it rewards the traditional and the iconic, as well as the goofy and the peculiar. Bravery in design is also rewarded. Essentially, the list was made at my own fanciful whim.

Because there's only room for so many, some great helmets were regrettably left off the list. I encourage you to list your own favorites in the comments, but if you're genuinely angry with the exclusion or placement of your favorite team's helmet, I'd rather you spent that time talking to a therapist.

After the jump, the complete list, plus honorable mentions.



The Shutdown Eleven: Coolest Helmets in Pro Football History



11. In 1974, he was replaced with a cartoonish leaping buffalo, either because the Bills wanted something a little more lively on their helmet, or because O.J. killed him. I miss him very much. More ...
10. It might be a Packers rip-off, but if you're going to rip someone off, the Packers are a pretty good target. I love the interlocking 'E's in the logo, neatly surrounded by the tight green oval. It's a clean, tidy look that has evolved very little through the years. More ...
9. The Chargers are one of the few teams ever to incorporate a number as well as a logo. It's a bold move, and the masculinity required to pull it off was belied by the powder blue of the jerseys themselves. More ...
8. The inclusion of the Iowa Barnstormers on this prestigious list can be justified with two words: Snoopy. Goggles. More ...
7. The Tony the Tiger stripes are going to be a controversial selection here in the Shutdown Eleven, and I'm okay with that. Everyone I've unofficially polled has had a strong opinion on the Bengals lids; some hate them, some dig them. There's not a lot of gray area. More ...
6. The logo itself looked like a graphic you might have seen during a roller derby broadcast on ESPN in 1983. More ...
5. The rectangle is above being associated with any one sports team. The circle has too many universal applications to be claimed by any franchise. Nobody owns the square. But the Cowboys have taken the star, or at least the blue one, and they've made it their own. More ...
4. I think the Oilers' top-five ranking here is also helped by the fact that the helmet that replaced it is so effective at making you long for the old ones. More ...
3. We celebrate you, Packers and Colts, for never giving into the temptation to change your helmets. I'm sure at some point in Colts history, some guy came into a board room and suggested putting a snarling cartoon horse on the Colts' helmets, and someone probably once tried to convince the Packers to put a football-toting meatpacker on the side of their helmets, but they've both resisted. And today, they're rewarded. More...
2. The Bucs discontinued this glorious creation in 1996, but it feels like it's been ten lifetimes since I've seen it. Not a day goes by that I don't wake up and miss that swashbuckling son of a gun winking at me like I just brought him breakfast in bed. More ...


1. It's extremely unique, it's got an interesting backstory, and obviously, there's a lot of winning tradition behind it. It succeeds on every front, and is something that's kind of evolved organically out of the town itself to become a powerful and iconic sports logo. More ...


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