Please read this Mr. @#$%&: "The world needs to appreciate it and understand the innocence of how this started,"

The last sentence needs to be read to Mr. @#$%& and then EXPLAIN to him what it means...

The first-ever NFL helmet with a logo was hand-painted by the Rams' Fred Gehrke in 1947
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Marc Cota-Robles Image
ByMarc Cota-Robles via KABC logo
Wednesday, February 9, 2022



LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- When you consider the 100-plus-year history of the NFL, a lot has happened and a lot has changed. But could a single Rams helmet perhaps be the most historically significant artifact of the last century?

It dates back to 1947, back when helmets didn't provide much either in the form of safety, or in this case, team identity.

Former player Fred Gehrke wanted to change that with a team logo. As an art major in college, he went to the coach.

"He kept asking the question and the coach just kinda kept pushing him off until he finally got upset and handed him this helmet - and just said go home and paint," said Keven Pederson, the current owner of the historic helmet.

That helmet is believed to be the first of 75 that were hand-painted that year in Gehrke's garage. He was paid on the side at $1 per helmet.

"Fred carried a can of blue and yellow paint with him all through the next season, and after the game he would take your helmet and if there were scuffs on it, he would fix the yellow and fix the blue."

Pederson believes the helmet changed the game and helped the NFL evolve into a multi-billion dollar industry - not to mention the other sport leagues that followed.

"You know the Rams because of that horn, you know the Lakers because of their logo," he said. "If you say L.A., that doesn't mean anything."

While the helmet, part of Gerhke's estate, cost Pedersen and his partners $40,000, there's the belief that it's worth much more. So what now?

"Well, that's been a contentious thing with these guys because I would love this to just sit in my living room and not share it without anyone."

But they feel that's not where it belongs.

"For the true sports fan and somebody that's into football, it's awe-inspiring."

Whether it's the Hall of Fame or Rams corporate headquarters, they're open to letting it go.

"The world needs to appreciate it and understand the innocence of how this started," Pedersen said.

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#HelmetHornsMatter

“Well, the color is good, I like the metallic blue,” Youngblood recently said while laughing, via NFL Journal. “The horn is terrible. It looks like a ‘C.’ When I first saw it on the logo I honestly thought it was a Charger logo.

“Now when I see it on the helmet, it just isn’t a ram horn. There is no distinct curl like a mature ram horn. I don’t know how the Rams could get that wrong. That is your symbol and it has been for what? Seventy years or more? Longer than I have been alive? It’s just not us, it’s not the Rams.”---Mr. Ram Jack Youngblood