# Why did it take so long to require helmets in hockey? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** hockey-nhl\ **Created:** [September 29, 2022, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-it-take-so-long-to-require-helmets-in-hockey/972431 "2022-09-29T05:01:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2022, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-it-take-so-long-to-require-helmets-in-hockey/972431/1 "2022-09-29T05:01:35Z")
Watching old stuff on the NHL network battling insomnia and it does seem like it took a long time for hockey helmets to become standard. I can understand why players have been resistant to visors and cages, but a helmet? Is it just a macho thing? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2022, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-it-take-so-long-to-require-helmets-in-hockey/972431/2 "2022-09-29T05:07:07Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Is it just a macho thing? Probably. As this article notes, there were other excuses given, but most of them seem pretty iffy. > [@](#): > > Looking back, mandating helmets was a “no-brainer” (pardon the pun!), but it didn’t happen overnight and the decision was not without protest. Many NHL players argued a helmet was too hot to wear, others said helmets limited their vision, another argument was that the chin straps were too tight, more still felt helmets limited the identity of the players—all laughable excuses. > **[NHLPA To Blame For Safety Issues, Not The NHL](https://bleacherreport.com/articles/285645-nhlpa-to-blame-for-safety-issues-not-the-nhl)** > > In 1979, after years of resistance by NHL players, the NHL made helmets mandatory for players entering the league. Veteran players that were currently helmet-less would be allowed to let their ... ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2022, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-it-take-so-long-to-require-helmets-in-hockey/972431/3 "2022-09-29T05:07:25Z")
I assume it’s for situational awareness / peripheral vision. At least, those arguments are why there is no helmet law in my state for motorcycles. That seems nuts to me but I don’t ride motorcycles, so whatever. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2022, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-it-take-so-long-to-require-helmets-in-hockey/972431/4 "2022-09-29T11:56:16Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Is it just a macho thing? I don’t know how macho this is… > [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Many NHL players argued a helmet was too hot to wear, others said helmets limited their vision, another argument was that the chin straps were too tight, more still felt helmets limited the identity of the players—all laughable excuses. Maybe it’s just me. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2022, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-it-take-so-long-to-require-helmets-in-hockey/972431/5 "2022-09-29T12:39:46Z")
It was a macho thing. I don’t know why players don’t wear cages or full face visors, either. If the goalie (and most junior teams and women’s teams) can see the puck well enough with a cage, so can the pros. I really don’t get it – a high stick or puck could take your eye out, ending your career, or break something in your face, putting you on the sidelines for months. When they have a lower face injury, you’ll see players wearing full-face visors – why not wear that all the time? Too foggy? Wear a cage. One guy got his jaw broken really badly in baseball and now you see lots of players wearing that extra jaw protection. Hockey players get sidelined by face injuries all the time – leaving aside the missing teeth joke, they break their jaws, break their cheeks, eye sockets. Sticks hurt and pucks come in really fast. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2022, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-it-take-so-long-to-require-helmets-in-hockey/972431/6 "2022-09-29T13:06:52Z")
I’m pretty sure that all players are now required to wear a shield for eye protection, but that may have a grandfather clause allowing older players to avoid wearing them. Bryan Berard some pretty close to losing his eye in an accident. After several surgeries and a special contact lens, he was able to meet the NHL vision minimum of 20/400, and played with the issue. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2022, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-it-take-so-long-to-require-helmets-in-hockey/972431/7 "2022-09-29T14:30:04Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > I don’t know how macho this is… > > > [@kenobi\_65](#): > > > > Many NHL players argued a helmet was too hot to wear, others said helmets limited their vision, another argument was that the chin straps were too tight, more still felt helmets limited the identity of the players—all laughable excuses. > > Maybe it’s just me. I think that those were (probably flimsy) rationalizations for the underlying reason, which was “real men don’t wear helmets.” ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2022, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-it-take-so-long-to-require-helmets-in-hockey/972431/8 "2022-09-29T16:21:32Z")
This. And missing teeth, scars, bruises and such were seen as much as part of the identity as fighting. But medicine was not yet fully aware of things like the long term effects of seemingly moderate injuries. Even one of the first goalie masks was adorned with stitches. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2022, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-it-take-so-long-to-require-helmets-in-hockey/972431/9 "2022-09-29T19:02:50Z")
And it only took [someone dying](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Masterton) to make them more common place. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2022, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-it-take-so-long-to-require-helmets-in-hockey/972431/10 "2022-09-29T19:46:42Z")
> **[Terry Sawchuk - The face of a hockey goalie before masks became standard game...](https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/terry-sawchuk-face-hockey-goalie-masks-became-standard-game-equipment-1966/)** > > Re-created here, by a professional make-up artist and a doctor, are some of the more than 400 stitches Terry Sawchuk had earned during 16 years in the NHL. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2022, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-it-take-so-long-to-require-helmets-in-hockey/972431/11 "2022-10-05T16:29:56Z")
At some point hockey players will stop shrugging off [grievous dental injuries](https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/27851359/the-ugly-gory-bloody-secret-life-nhl-dentists) and start wearing adequate masks. It’s not as if football fandom has declined because spectators can’t recognize facial features of their favorite players. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2022, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-it-take-so-long-to-require-helmets-in-hockey/972431/12 "2022-10-07T01:03:05Z")
IIRC Brad Marsh started to wear a helmet late in his career, but stopped wearing one due to getting a lot more cheap shots, especially to the head. Ah, things were so much simpler back then. ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2022, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-it-take-so-long-to-require-helmets-in-hockey/972431/13 "2022-10-07T06:14:01Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > I’m pretty sure that all players are now required to wear a shield for eye protection, but that may have a grandfather clause allowing older players to avoid wearing them. If the player played in 25 games before 2013 (I think that’s it), he doesn’t have to wear a visor. There’s only a handful of players that don’t (Ryan O’Reily, Milan Lucic, Jamie Benn are some). And there are the players who wear tilted visors that are tilted up so stupidly high that they do more to protect their foreheads than their eyes. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2022, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-it-take-so-long-to-require-helmets-in-hockey/972431/14 "2022-10-10T02:50:46Z")
Are there any goalies out there who don’t bother with neck guards? THAT’S another [scary thing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clint_Malarchuk). (Don’t worry, no frightening images)