(Source of picture: Florida State Archives)

Here's a Stetson University football team sometime between 1898 and 1910.  They're flyweights compared to present-day players.

Yesterday's gridiron warriors were also not as protected as those today.  Leather helmets did come into use during the 1890s, and they were common before World War I.  Nevertheless, intercollegiate rules didn't  actually require head protectors until 1939.  And only after World War II were plastic helmets widely adopted.  Also evolving into larger & stronger forms during the 20th century were pads for shoulders, knees, hips, & thighs.  In 1951, intercollegiate rules finally legalized face masks, and colleges made mouth protectors mandatory in 1973.

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