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84:. They then became brown through the use of a rubber coating, which covered the metal bars; the brown later became a neutral gray, and would remain as such until 1974, when the then-San Diego Chargers, Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs introduced the first colored facemasks to football; the two teams rolled out yellow and white facemasks, respectively. This opened the door to many teams at all levels of football changing the facemask color, but some have retained gray ones since (the
59:'s face mask in previous years could be just a single horizontal bar, since he has a need to see the entire field; today, quarterbacks, receivers and kickers/punters wear, at minimum, a two-bar facemask. (Single-bar face masks are no longer allowed in most levels, except for players who began using the single bar before the rules were implemented.) Positions such as linemen, however, may have several bars on their face mask, both horizontal and vertical.
17:
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was the last NFL player to not wear a face mask, only adopting one partway through the 1966 season. Single bars were initially the only available design, and this evolved over the course of the next several decades into the current cage-like designs, which became the norm at all levels by the early
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The term "face mask" in the game is also used to refer to the foul of illegally touching the equipment. In most leagues, tackling or otherwise restraining a player by grabbing the face mask is illegal due to the risk of injury, and the penalty is severe, drawing 15 yards, and also a first down if
62:
In the leather helmet era, an early attempt at face protection was the "executioner" helmet which covered the nose and much of the face. This helmet literally was a face mask bearing a strong likeness to traditional executioner face masks. Another early attempt in the leather helmet era at face
66:
Face masks first came into vogue in football during the second half of the 1950s, after the hard-shell plastic helmet became commonplace, and were adopted voluntarily and universally at all levels of gridiron football within one decade.
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protection was the nose guard. These simply covered the player's nose. In modern times, the term "nose guard" describes a player on the interior defensive line, usually aligned opposite the offensive center.
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that directly covers the face. It is a major source of protection for the players, made of metal covered either with a rubber or plastic coating. Early facemasks were made of pure plastic.
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1980s. Single-bar face masks were officially banned in professional football in 2004, with the remaining players still using them allowed to continue wearing them under a
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112:, the ball carrier's face mask was allowed to be grabbed, but not others. The rule was changed to apply to all players beginning in
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was the last player in professional football to wear the single-bar, finishing his career in 2009. Initially, face masks were clear
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committed by the defense. In high school, the penalty is only 5 yards if the act was considered to be "incidental."
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Details of the face mask may vary according to each player and their needs for their position. For example, the
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Coaching Youth
Football: The Guide for Coaches, Parents and Athletes
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A lineman whose face mask has horizontal and vertical bars
247:. (Idaho). Associated Press. January 10, 1962. p. 8.
188:"Face of the NFL is gone: An ode to the single-bar"
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20:A player holding his helmet by the face mask
133:Cartwright, Lorin; Pitney, William (2011).
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92:have never worn a color other than gray).
241:"NFL outlaws hold on face mask in tackle"
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213:McCarthy, John P. (29 June 2007).
160:Sullivan, George (2 August 1990).
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136:Fundamentals of Athletic Training
522:Illegal touching of a free kick
139:. Human Kinetics. p. 295.
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552:Ineligible receiver downfield
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720:Gridiron football penalties
286:Gridiron football equipment
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639:Helmet-to-helmet collision
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649:Illegal hands to the face
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219:. F+W Media. p. 20.
619:Blocking below the waist
245:Lewiston Morning Tribune
110:National Football League
699:Unsportsmanlike conduct
557:Neutral zone infraction
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603:Intentional grounding
532:Illegal participation
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684:Roughing the snapper
654:Illegal forward kick
598:Illegal use of hands
542:Illegal substitution
517:Illegal forward pass
466:Equipment violations
679:Roughing the passer
674:Roughing the kicker
644:Horse-collar tackle
567:Sideline infraction
48:is the part of the
36:A face mask penalty
588:Helping the runner
163:All about Football
74:grandfather clause
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22:
707:
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659:Pass interference
612:15-yard penalties
583:Block in the back
576:10-yard penalties
512:Illegal formation
447:Gridiron football
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90:Las Vegas Raiders
42:gridiron football
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547:Illegal touching
480:5-yard penalties
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194:. 11 August 2009
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108:season in the
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405:Athletic Cup
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333:Guardian Cap
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196:. Retrieved
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104:Through the
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78:Scott Player
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502:False start
198:25 December
192:Espn.go.com
166:. Penguin.
57:quarterback
624:Chop block
492:Time count
471:Unfair act
343:Revolution
305:Goal posts
120:References
634:Face mask
450:penalties
379:Throwback
369:Alternate
328:Face mask
323:Eyeshield
46:face mask
714:Category
694:Tripping
689:Spearing
629:Clipping
357:Uniforms
664:Leaping
593:Holding
562:Offside
374:Numbers
338:History
293:General
96:Penalty
395:Cleats
348:Winged
315:Helmet
223:
170:
143:
82:Lucite
50:helmet
44:, the
300:Ball
221:ISBN
200:2017
168:ISBN
141:ISBN
114:1962
106:1961
88:and
40:In
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243:.
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116:.
76:;
439:e
432:t
425:v
278:e
271:t
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176:.
149:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.