Best National Football League Throwback Helmets Since the 1970 NFL-AFL Merger
Some of the most recognizable images in all of sports are those of National Football League helmets.
Birds of prey, charging beasts, historical symbols, iconic lettering—all of those and more have found their way onto plastic shells featured every Sunday afternoon for a half-century or so now.
Here's a look at some of my personal favorites from nearly 40 years of watching NFL Football, since the venerable league merged with the upstart American Football League in 1970. I chose designs that are no longer in full-time use, and didn't pick any clubs such as Miami, Minnesota or Kansas City that have only been tweaked a little bit over the years, and remain largely unchanged today.
Feel free to agree or disagree with me below.
Buffalo Bills (1987-2001)
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The charging buffalo logo remains even though the Bills returned full-time to white shells this year.
The red color really stood out, and along with four straight Super Bowl appearances, made the Bills stand out in the old AFC East, where everyone once wore white hats.
Houston Oilers (1975-1980)
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The blue oil derrick on white, with blue/red stripes and a grey facemask, was the classic look worn by Earl Campbell and Dan Pastorini.
Shame it—and the Oilers—no longer really exist (except as the Titans).
Atlanta Falcons (1966-1969)
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Atlanta's first NFL helmet with the classic Falcon logo has been periodically used as a throwback since the 2009 season.
Wish the Falcons would return full-time to red shells, especially with black facemasks—there's too many NFL teams with dark blue or black helmets these days, and only Kansas City left wearing red.
Denver Broncos (1975-1996)
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I can still see John Elway dropping back to pass wearing one of these helmets—unfortunately, the Broncos were also annihilated in four of five Super Bowls wearing these, and then won two titles with their current lids.
This design did come back for a Thanksgiving game at Dallas in 2001.
New York Jets (1990-1997)
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The black face masks and trim matched perfectly with the green shells.
The green helmets with the supersonic Jets logo and italic word mark were introduced in 1978, back when the Jets were still playing in New York at Shea Stadium; although that was with a white facemask and no black logo trim.
The Jets wore these helmets in Bill Parcells' first season as head coach in 1997, before returning to their Super Bowl-era white shells the following season under his direction.
Wish the Jets would wear these lids again for a game or two every season, instead of the blue-and-gold Titans throwbacks that bear no logo of any kind.
Philadelphia Eagles (1969-1973)
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This was my first NFL helmet from the old Sears catalog, and was from the days when Roman Gabriel quarterbacked the Eagles. They didn't last very long—but they looked neat, nevertheless, especially those green wings.
The white helmet stands out in contrast to the kelly green and midnight green helmets the Eagles wore before and have worn ever since, and would make for a nice throwback uniform sometime.
Just so long as Philadelphia promises to never again wear those "classic" blue-and-yellow outfits from a few seasons ago.
Seattle Seahawks (1983-2001)
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The Seahawks may have enjoyed more success with the navy blue helmets they switched to in 2002, but these were the ones they first made the playoffs with in 1983, coming within one game of the Super Bowl after wins over Denver and Miami.
The blue, green and silver were originally chosen as the colors of a raging sea, and were complemented perfectly by the blue face masks.
This design hasn't made an appearance since the last game of the 2001 season at Husky Stadium in a home win over Kansas City, but hopefully this helmet and the accompanying blue jersey will return one day, either as a throwback or on a full-time basis.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1976-1996)
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There's just something I like about the red-and-orange-trimmed helmets with white shells and "Bucco Bruce" on the sides, even if the Bucs didn't have a whole lot of success while wearing them, save for a run to the 1979 NFC Championship Game.
It was generally believed these helmets had been put away for good when Tampa Bay went to an all-new color and logo scheme in 1997. They then made an appearance at one home game each of the past two seasons, first against Green Bay and then Atlanta, with the rest of Raymond James Stadium transforming to the "Creamsicle" colors as well.
They will return a third time on Dec. 4 against Carolina. Hopefully it will be an annual occurrence in Florida.
Washington Redskins (1970-1971)
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Vince Lombardi brought about this change in the Redskins lids. They were similar to his old Green Bay Packers, though he didn't live to see these helmets actually take the field, as he passed away before the 1970 season.
The yellow shells with the burgundy "R" in a white ring adorned with a Native American headdress made a comeback in 2007 against the Giants, as part of a Washington throwback uniform.
New York Giants (1981-1999)
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I actually like this dark blue helmet better than the current/throwback one worn by the Giants.
Maybe it's just the iconic word mark of "GIANTS" spelled out in white capital letters—it seems more fitting then the lowercase "ny" the team has sported since 2000. Maybe that's because the Giants have played all their home games in New Jersey since 1976 ...
New England Patriots (1990-1992)
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The Patriots have brought back this design every so often in recent years, albeit with white face masks rather than red.
New England didn't have as much success with this design as it has had with its current silver helmet shells and modern Minuteman logo, but "Pat the Patriot" is one of the more iconic symbols in NFL history, and has survived in one form or another for 50 years now.
San Diego Chargers (1988-2006)
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An original AFL franchise, the Chargers went to a darker blue shell and facemask, with a white lightning bolt, in 1988 after nearly playing a quarter-century with a lighter-shaded blue shell accompanied by a yellow facemask and lightning bolt.
San Diego played in its first and only Super Bowl in the dark blue helmets, losing to San Francisco in 1995. The Chargers came close a few other times, before returning to their original white helmet shells full-time in 2007, with a yellow lightning bolt trimmed with blue.
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