First Football Helmet and Career
In 1896, Barclay was credited with inventing the first-ever football helmet, with the intention that it would prevent cauliflower ears. The helmet was constructed by a saddle-maker from nearby Easton with strips of leather harness padding. It made its debut in a Lafayette game against Penn on Oct. 24, 1896. The NCAA and the National Football League made helmets mandatory in 1939 and in 1941, respectively.
Barclay also was a member of the 1897 Lafayette football team that won the national championship. That same year he was a player-coach for the Greensburg Athletic Association. He ended the season on the player on that team named to the “All- Western Pennsylvania” team by the Pittsburgh Press. A year later, he was chosen by Dave Berry, the manager of the rivial Latrobe Athletic Association, to play for the Western Pennsylvania All-Stars in the very first football all-star game, against the Duquesne Country and Athletic Club.
Read more about this topic: George Barclay (sportsperson)
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