In the early days of football, games could look like a bare-knuckles brawl. In this scene, players converge on the ball carrier amid a tangle of legs, cleats, leather helmets and taped hands.

Helmets were originally plain natural leather, either brown, cordovan or black. Color was later added to the helmets to help the quarterback see receivers down field and to addÊa bit of flair to the game. Some players wore nose guards, but face masks didn't come around until the 1950s.