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Innovation

Making History Since 1929

Ripkord™ Shoulder Pad Removal System

The RipKord™ Shoulder Pad Removal System is designed to ensure the most effective medical management, diagnosis and treatment of suspected head and neck injuries to each and every football player at the high school, college and professional levels.

Riddell 360 Helmet

2011: First in helmet design that uses energy managing materials and face mask attachment system that disperses the energy of frontal impacts. Informed by over 1.4 million impacts collected through Riddell HITS technology.

Quick Release™ Attachement System

2008: First proprietary push-button Quick Release™ Face Mask Attachement System to cut face mask removal time by 50 percent

The Revolution IQ HITS™

2007: The first individual helmet system that allows a player to monitor the number and severity of impacts received during games and practices. On-board electronics record every impact, allowing players to upload and evaluate each occurrence on their home computers.

Univ. of Pittsburgh Medical Center Study

2006: The UPMC study was published in the February 2006 issue of Neurosurgery, found that high school athletes who wore the Riddell Revolution helmet were 31% less likely to suffer a concussion compared to high school athletes who wore traditional helmets. Riddell provided a research grant to the UPMC for head injury research, and that grant helped fund the study.

Sideline Response System (SRS)

2003: The first real-time, Head Impact Telemetry System (HITS) that monitors and records every significant incidence of head impact sustained during a football game or practice. The system measures the location, magnitude, duration and direction of head acceleration and transmits that information wirelessly to the sideline.

The Riddell® Revolution Football Helmet

2002: The first helmet (Riddell Revolution) designed with the intent of reducing the risk of concussion. The Riddell Revolution was the first major innovation in football helmets in 25 years.

Polyurethane Front Pad and Updated Suspension system

1982: This M155 model reveals the combination of foam and liquid-filled cells used for padding. On impact, the liquid would be throttled from one cell to the next, resulting in energy attenuation. At the time it was manufactured, one piece injection molded face masks were mar and rust-resistant. Polyurethane face mask straps and Universal jaw pads resulted in a high-quality, custom-fit, highly protective helmet.

First Air Cushion® Engineered Helmet

1981: The Air Cushion Engineered (A.C.E.) helmet provided protection never seen before.

First Stainless Steel Face Mask

1977: Riddell stainless steel face masks offered greater bend resistance that prevented helmet breakage at the drill holes. Once the competitors started producing the same technology, Riddell’s still maintained the lightest weight in the market.

First “Ripple Sole” Soccer Shoe

1977:

1st Professionally Tested Yth Helmet

1974: The Riddell® Ramrod Youth Helmet was the first professionally-tested youth helmet interior ever. The name was later changed to, a less controversial, PAC-44 shortly after its introduction.

First Air Cushion Helmet

1973: One of the most successful helmets of its time. The interior system consists of ndividual vinyl air cushions with layers of fitting and energy absorbing foam. When a blow is struck, the air in the cushion is expelled through a single vent, greatly reducing the initial impact. With the exhausting of the air cushion, the compressed fitting foam is further compressed, reducing impact.

First Micro-Fit® Helmet

1969: The experimental nature of the 1960s influenced many changes in the design and manufacture of football helmets. With head protection a key factor in helmet design, durable head protection became a must. This model was constructed with injection molding technology used for this model created a one-piece shell that improved the structural integrity of the entire helmet.

First Aero-Cells® in a Helmet

1963: This TAK-29 was the first to use air inflation for fitting the helmet snug to the head. But with just one air valve at the base of the helmet, the custom fit only accommodated the player’s neck size. The TAK-29 shell, like the TK2, proudly displays the durable and protective polycarbonate plastic. And the tough shock and cut-resistant face mask attachment straps were also included.

First Nose Protector U Bar

1962: First to use the “U” shaped nose protector, the shell of this – the TK2 – is molded out of polycarbonate. In the 60s polycarbonate was a “new and improved” type of plastic that was just starting to see its way into bulletproof glass and automobile bumpers. An open/closed cell foam and a composite liner system were also designed for this model to increase the efficiency of the webbed suspension.

First Tubular Bar Guard

1957: The breakthrough in face masks came in 1955. G.E. Morgan, invented the BT-5 face mask for quarterback Otto Graham. The "BT" in the invention's name was for bar tubular; it was a single tubular bar that was a combination of rubber and plastic. From BT-5 came a variety of single bars, double bars, triple bars, and birdcages. Plastic and rubber tubing or welded steel or aluminum with a vinyl plastisol coating were used in their construction.

First Snug-Tie®

1956:

First Clear Bar Guard

1951: All NFL players were maskless until the Browns' home game against the 49ers where Otto Graham took an elbow to the face, ripping open the side of his mouth near the end of the half. His coach, Paul Brown, had a lucite prototype put on Otto's helmet by the team equipment Manager. Otto insisted on playing the second half. Paul Brown owned the patent for the face mask made by Riddell and used his profits to create the Cincinnati Bengals.

First Plastic Suspension Helmet

Early 1940's: John T. Riddell invented the first plastic suspension helmet. During World War II Riddell allowed the US government use of his suspension design. Used in the greatest number of helmets ever produced, millions of Allied troops wore Riddell’s suspension in combat. Just as the GI helmet before it, the suspension football helmet burst on the scene and became the most popular ever made.

First Chinstrap Worn on Chin

1940: The legalization of the plastic helmet in 1949 made it possible to bake color into helmets.Thermoplastic was used for this helmet, resulting in a lighter-weight and more impact-resistant model. This helmet also represents the first use of a padded, leather chin strap – warn on the chin – for the purpose of protecting as well as holding helmet in place.

First Plastic Helmet

1939: The short-lived experiment in which the plastic helmet screw ends protruding from the helmet it’s not surprising that this rendition never made it onto the field. More importantly, this model shows the first all-plastic helmet. Although the plastic was quite brittle and would tend to break upon impact, the linen-phenolic lining was somewhat helpful in keeping all the pieces from flying off the helmet.

All Leather Helmets

1930’s: Owners, coaches and players (especially players) had the good sense to add this primitive, hand painted helmet to the football uniform. Constructed from seven pieces of cobbled leather, this vintage helmet features only foam rubber padding, a simple leather strap – but not for protection – this one was worn under the chin to hold on the helmet.

First Action Last

1929: John T. Riddell first started his tradition of firsts in 1929 as an actual company dedicated to innovation, protection and performance. Most football shoes are made from ordinary street shoe lasts. Riddell’s were made from an exclusive Action Last that formed the shoe in an action position. They are running before you step into them.

First Removable Cleat

1922: John T. Riddell was born in Georgetown, Michigan in October, 1885. A Bethany College graduate, he became the Head Football Coach and Athletic Director at Evanston Township High School in Evanston, IL. In 1922, Mr. Riddell invented and developed the removable football cleat. Through the success of this shoe, he was able to leave his school position and begin John T. Riddell Incorporated.

A Tradition of Firsts Begins

Riddell has a storied history which began in 1929. John T. Riddell was born in Georgetown, Michigan in October, 1885. After graduating “Cum Laude” from Bethany College, he did graduate work at Yale, Northwestern and the University of Chicago. He remained true to academics and from 1913 through 1927 he taught Mathematics while becoming Head Football Coach and Athletic Director at Evanston Township High School.