Under the titillating headline “The Private Life of a Football Lineman,” the Tribune did a photo spread of a couple of Bears’ faces having intimate but anonymous encounters with elbows, knees, cleats and hands. This move, the caption read, “adds zest to the game–for the pushee. Nothing illegal about it. Just a trifle discommoding.” It wasn’t till the ’50s that it occurred to someone to invent the face mask; meanwhile, Wichita lineman Bausch and his nose moved on to a committed relationship with a hometown tire company.
Sports-related mild brain traumas reported annually in the U.S.: 300,000.
Cost of a HIT System helmet with sensors monitoring the impact of a collision on a player’s head: $2,000. Number of these helmets being tested by Virginia Tech players this year: 4.
Average pro football career, in years: 3.5.
College players killed during games in 1905: 18.
