Football Helmet Decals |
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by Rocky C. Sherman, E.M., C At one time, all headgear in college and professional football appeared to be the same. In 1948, The Los Angeles Rams forever changed the landscape of football helmet decorating by painting the ram horns on the side of their leather helmets. Today, helmet decoration is the norm rather than the exception. Due to the evolution on stickers and decals. The focus of this article will be to educate the general public on the history of helmet decals, what they are made of, the different types of decals, and the different processes used to remove decals from football helmets. Formally, decals from the past were not decals at all. As stated earlier, the first images to appear on football helmets were painted, and in some rare cases today, helmets are still painted with team logos or designs (example: Cincinnati Bengals). With the help of technology and ingenuity decals have all but replaced paint as far as helmet decoration. Today’s decals are made of a tough fifteen to twenty mil flexible vinyl with a strong adhesive to keep the decal in place. Making replacing the logo to enhance visual aesthetics much easier and practical. Additionally, when compared to paint, decals are a much more budget friendly way to decorate the helmet. Customized paint designs can be very costly, but a decal is just a fraction of the cost of those customized paint jobs. Decals come in several shapes and sizes. There are award decals, center stripes, side decals and a variety of decals that decorate the back of football helmets. Award decals are used both in youth and college football. Center stripes of different lengths and width are being used at all levels: youth, college and NFL. Side decals represent the team’s logo or mascot. There are also specialized decals on football helmets. These specialized decals are seen during different bowl games though out the country. The American began appearing on helmets immediately following the 911 Tragedy. There has been debate over who was the first football team to award athletes with decals. The debate is between Miami of Ohio in 1964 or The Ohio State Buckeyes in 1968. Assistant coach, Jim Young, recalls putting a small enemy flag on his plane every time he shot down a foe during World War II. Although this might be true, I have found in my research award decals were first introduced in 1968 by the Ohio State Buckeyes. Coach, Woody Hays, and trainer, Ernie Biggs, would award athletes with small round decals. These decals were designed to look like buckeye tree leaves (Aesculus Glabra). Award decals were earned by athletes that displayed outstanding contributions on the football field. The player would receive a small oval “sticker” decal for their helmet. This was only given to the athletes if the Buckeyes won. Coach Hays and trainer Biggs were looking for a way to motivate athletes and to keep them motivated. Coach Hays would also threaten athletes that these award decals could also be removed from their helmet for not performing to a team standard. The criteria for receiving a Buckeye has been considerably refined over the years. However, this practice of awarding athletes with award decals is still being used and has been adopted by many youth and college programs. The criteria varies depending on the team. The following teams have used award deals to motivate their athletes: Tomahawks of Florida State, Paw prints of Clemson and the Bones on the Georgia Bulldog). Georgia has adopted the practice of awarding athletes bones for not only on the field performance, but for academic achievement in the classroom. The white bones are for on the field performance and the black bones are for academic achievement. Athletes can receive an award decal for a number of reasons including: touch downs, causing a fumble, recovering a fumble, field goals, etc. The coaching staff determines who receives an award decal. At some point, decals need to be removed. Equipment Managers, support staff and reconditioners throughout the country all remove decals. This process of removing decals can be and is both tedious and time consuming. Through the years several methods have been adopted to remove decals from football helmets. There is the old fashioned way of using a little elbow grease and remove the decal by hand by picking at the decal with your finger nail, grab a corner and pull it off. Other techniques include using an ice pick, scraper, razor blade, or knife to get under the edge of the decal and pry it up before pulling it off. This method can not only be dangerous to the user, but it can also damage the helmet shell. Another technique is an attempt to soften the adhesive glue, heat from hand held hair dryers has been used. The user holds the hair dryer against the decal to heat both the decal and the helmet, causing the glue to soften before picking and pulling the decal off. This process can take 1 to 2 minutes per decal depending on the condition of the decal and how long the decal has been on the helmet. Spray lubricants and other chemicals such as paint thinners and alcohol have also been used to soften the adhesive glue of the decal. This can be dangerous to the user and possibly damage the helmet shell. In addition, industrial buffers are also being used to remove decals. These machines are expensive and not practical to use for an equipment manager or support staff. One recent tool seems to have had a positive impact on decal removal is the No Touch Decal Removal System. Many reconditioners, youth programs, colleges/universities, and NFL teams throughout the country are using the specialized drill bits to remove the decals in a fast and effective way.
The flat spoon bit is designed to remove 1 to 3 award decals at a time. Keep spoon flat against the helmet as the bit slides under decal. The down side might be the cost. Plan to spend around $600.00 for the entire decal removal system. Depending on your budget size and time spent replacing decals throughout the season, the investment may or may not be for you. Whatever method is used by your organization, it is best to check with the helmet manufacturer and find out their recommended method for removing decals and adhesive from the helmet. Or, at least ensure that your particular method will not void the warranty.
Rocky C. Sherman, E.M., C, is Inventor of NTDR System. For more information, go to www.notouchdecalremoval.com.
Sources: usatoday.com, espn.com and wikipedia.com
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