# Gold Football Helmets
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gold-football-helmets/5121
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [December 4, 1999, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gold-football-helmets/5121 "1999-12-04T19:48:00Z")
**Posts on this page:** 11
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@ChiefScott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChiefScott)
#### Post date: [December 4, 1999, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gold-football-helmets/5121/1 "1999-12-04T19:48:00Z")
Just watching the game (Go Navy!) and the thought occurred, why do so many college football teams have solid gold helmets?
Army, Navy, ND, Boston College and others?
WAGs welcome, truth sought.
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### Author:  [@funneefarmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/funneefarmer)
#### Post date: [December 4, 1999, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gold-football-helmets/5121/2 "1999-12-04T19:59:00Z")
There are only so many colors…
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### Author:  [@Satan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satan)
#### Post date: [December 4, 1999, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gold-football-helmets/5121/3 "1999-12-04T20:58:00Z")
I don’t think Gold is represented any more of less than other coolors at any level of football.
In fact, my guess is white is most common.
* * *
Yer pal,
Satan
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### Author:  [@ChiefScott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChiefScott)
#### Post date: [December 4, 1999, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gold-football-helmets/5121/4 "1999-12-04T21:05:00Z")
Farmee, Bri –
But most have some type of adornment. Penn State has solid white, but most colleges have at initials or symbols (the better to market the team and sell merchandise to alumni, I guess).
But gold helmets are surprisingly undecorated – more so than any other color.
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### Author:  [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)
#### Post date: [December 5, 1999, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gold-football-helmets/5121/5 "1999-12-05T02:03:00Z")
They’re not solid gold; that would be very expensive and weigh too much to wear comfortably. They’re just painted that color.
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### Author:  [@JamesCarroll](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JamesCarroll)
#### Post date: [December 5, 1999, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gold-football-helmets/5121/6 "1999-12-05T04:36:00Z")
Actually, Lumpy, Notre Dame mixes gold into their paint and repaints them every week.
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### Author:  [@JamesCarroll](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JamesCarroll)
#### Post date: [December 5, 1999, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gold-football-helmets/5121/7 "1999-12-05T04:42:00Z")
Now that I think about it I can’t think of any other schools other than the four you mentioned (there are 108 total at the IA level). And only ND and Navy are unadulterated (Army and BC both have colored stripes down the middle). WAG: Both schools have churches on campus with golden domes. Next question: Who was the first school to have colored/painted helmets?
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### Author:  [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)
#### Post date: [December 5, 1999, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gold-football-helmets/5121/8 "1999-12-05T11:58:00Z")
> [@](#):
>
> I don’t think Gold is represented any more of less than other colors at any level of football.
I dunno. I have yet to see a pink helmet. But I know what you mean.
Personally, I’d take gold over ORANGE anyday.
[font = 1] Go Bengals. Woo. Hoo.
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### Author:  [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)
#### Post date: [December 5, 1999, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gold-football-helmets/5121/9 "1999-12-05T12:01:00Z")
I _hate_ these stupid UBB/HTML codes! (Lisa, banging her head on the wall)
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### Author:  [@funneefarmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/funneefarmer)
#### Post date: [December 5, 1999, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gold-football-helmets/5121/10 "1999-12-05T12:28:00Z")
Well the Syracuse Orangemen didn’t do that well this year but they’re still going to a bowl game. What are they calling the toilet bowl this year ? Oh yeah, Music City Bowl.
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### Author:  [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)
#### Post date: [December 6, 1999, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gold-football-helmets/5121/11 "1999-12-06T06:48:00Z")
I don’t if they were first, but Michigan coach, Fielding “Hurry Up” Yost, painted that weird design on his team’s helmets so it would be easier for his passers to pick out receivers down the field.