DALLAS COWBOYS	NEW YORK GIANTS	PHILADELPHIA EAGLES

WASHINGTON REDSKINS

Historical Helmets

DALLAS COWBOYS

1964 - 1966	1976	1960 - 1963; November 25, 2004; additional games 2005 -
	*see note 1 below	*see note 2 below

1967 - 1975; 1977 -

*1 The Cowboys replaced ONE of the blue central stripes with a red one for some (but perhaps not all) of their games during the 1976 season. All pictures I have seen of these helmets show the red stripe on the right side of the helmet, so that the stripe sequence, from left to right, runs blue-white-red. I've drawn a technically incorrect version of this helmet with the red stripe on the left side because otherwise it would look just like the current helmet.

*2 In addition to the 1960 - 1963 period, the Cowboys used white helmets during the following games: November 25, 2004 (vs Chicago), September 19, 2005 (vs Washington), November 24, 2005 (vs Denver), November 23, 2006 (vs Tampa Bay), December 25, 2006 (vs Philadelphia), November 29, 2007 (vs Green Bay), November 23, 2008 (vs San Francisco), and possibly during other games in recent years (I would appreciate any additions to this list; one visitor to this web site has reported that this is probably a complete list now). Each of the listed games was a home game for Dallas.

NEW YORK GIANTS

c.1940s - 1960	1961 - 1974; 1994 special	1975
		*see note 1 below

1975	1976 - 1979	1980 - 1999

2000 -

*1 During at least two preseason games in 1975, the Giants did not wear decals on the sides of their helmets. I have received photographic confirmation of this for a game in which the New York Jets were the opposing team, and a visitor to the web site has written to say that the numerals were also absent during a game against the Steelers, as was seen in an ESPN "Steelers '75 yearbook" program.

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES

c.1955 - 1968	1969	1969 - 1973
	*see note 1 below	*see note 1 below

1989 (late season)	1994 special	1974 - 1995
*see note 2 below

September 23, 2007	1996 -
*see note 3 below

I have received conflicting information regarding the wing decals on the white 1973 Eagles helmet, with some people claiming that a black outline was present around the outside of the decal, and others insisting that no such outline was present. At the present time (April 2007) I believe that both versions were probably used, though I have not yet received any photographs that I consider to be incontrovertible evidence in favor of either version (all the photographs are just a little too blurry). Some evidence for a black-outlined version includes: such a version is listed at Mike Stanhope's NFL helmet web site (http://www.mikestanhope.com/Helmetpix.html), which also includes a small photograph that may imply the presence of a dark outline; the "Helmet Hut" web site (http://www.helmethut.com/gabe.html) shows a replica helmet with a dark outline around the wing. Some evidence against such a version would include these comments posted to this web site's message board by people whom I believe to be reliable: "ESPN Classic is airing the Game of the Week between the Buffalo Bills and Philadelphia Eagles from 1973. As I have long suspected, there is NO black outline on the Eagle wing", and from another visitor, "I also am convinced that there was never a Black outline on the Green wings either; I've got a very clear (although it's in B&W) photo from the 1973 season that shows that the wings did NOT have an outline". Any good photographs from the Eagles' 1973 season would be appreciated.

Below is one photo which does seem to imply the presence of a black outline around the wing. At left is the "original", and at right is the same image brightened and with a "smoothing" effect applied to make the photo less grainy.

*1 Both green and white helmets were used during 1969; the green helmets were worn during road games and the white ones for home games.

*2 The Eagles wore a piece of black tape across their wing helmet decals during the last three games of the 1989 regular season and during a playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams. This was done as a tribute to the team's quarterbacks coach, Doug Scovil, who died on December 9, 1989. The specific dates were December 10 (vs Dallas), December 18 (at New Orleans), December 24 (vs Phoenix), and December 31 (vs Los Angeles).

*3 This helmet design was used on September 23, 2007 during a home game against the Detroit Lions. The helmet and uniforms which were worn during that game are intended to resemble those worn by the first Philadelphia Eagles team, which played in 1933.

WASHINGTON REDSKINS

c.1959 - 1964	1965 - 1969	1970 - 1971; September 23, 2007
*see note 1 below		*see note 2 below

1972 - 1977	1982	1994 special
	*see note 3 below

2002 home games	1978 - 1981; 1983 -

Both of the "spear" helmets (the 2002 one and the 1965-1969 one) had somewhat darker shells than the other Redskins helmets, according to some sources.

*1 This helmet featured a decal representing a red and white feather with a white shaft, placed where a central stripe would normally be. Obviously this feature is difficult for me to depict clearly from this perspective.

*2 This design was conceived by Redskins head coach Vince Lombardi, who sought to emulate the look his Green Bay teams had worn with such success during the 1960s. Lombardi did not live to see his design used by the Redskins in a regular-season game; he died of cancer on September 3, 1970. The design was brought back for a home game against the New York Giants in 2007.

*3 According to Mike Stanhope's football helmet web page (www.mikestanhope.com/Helmetpix.html), apparently not all players wore this altered version of the logo during 1982 (note that the feathers are different); some continued to use the "straight" feather version.