March 17, 2025
How Equipment in Sports has Evolved to Provide Better Protection
Safety in sports has come a long way, specifically in terms of what equipment players wear during a game. The equipment we see in today’s games is a far cry from what players used to wear (or not wear) in the early development days of sports. There have been massive changes to the gear worn by players in sports leagues like the NHL and MLB. This piece will look deeper into how their equipment has changed over time.
Since its inception, the National Hockey League (NHL) has seen a massive upgrade to its players’ equipment. Nearly every piece of equipment a hockey player puts on for game day has seen some sort of improvement, to better its overall functionality and level of safety. The most shocking changes to the equipment, though, come in the form of their pads and helmets/masks, both of which are incredibly different from what players wear today. During the early days of professional hockey, no player on the ice wore a helmet, including goalies. The only “helmets” even seen on the ice were introduced to goalies in 1927 and looked exactly like the mask worn by Jason Voorhees in the Friday the 13th franchise. Helmets and masks were not made to be mandatory until 1979 for offensive and defensive players, and 1959 for goalies. Hockey players also didn’t always compete with the same style of pads that we are used to seeing in today’s game. In the early days of hockey, the only pads players wore were those fashioned from leather and canvas and shin guards made from wood and leather. It wasn’t until after World War II concluded that players began wearing pads made from more “protective” materials like plastic and fiberglass.
Major League Baseball (MLB) is another sports league that’s seen a significant upgrade to their equipment. Athletes in this league did not start playing with baseball gloves until 1860, after catchers began wearing them. However, they were nothing like what we’re used to seeing in today’s league. Back then, a “baseball glove” was nothing more than a typical leather work glove that usually had the fingers exposed. Catchers also did not wear any type of mask to protect their faces. The first instance of a catcher wearing a mask didn’t happen until May of 1876. Having said that, the next time you go out to play a sport, think about how far the game has evolved to provide you with the protection that it does today.
For more information about how hockey has changed, refer to this article from the NHL’s own Pittsburg Penguins.
For more information about how baseball has changed, refer to this article.
—Seth VanEss, Sports Editor