Rare SPALDING EXECUTIONER Football Mask

[vintagesportscollector]

This is an exceptionally rare mask, especially considering the remarkable condition. Seller ended early, I imagine not because he/she got a good offer (since it was a BIN w/ a OBO), but presumably because they learned or were informed it was worth more than they are asking. I do not know, and am not expert with football, but curious of the opinions of the football experts on the board...this is a beauty!!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Awesome-Rare-SPALDING-EXECUTIONER-Mask-Antique-Leather-Vintage-Football-SUPER-/151849430830?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2047675.l2557&nma=true&si=nFe2amUxR9ygijfAA2%252FjYDgeTvI%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

[Ron]

the exact masked (same condition markings etc) sold on ebay about 3-4 weeks ago for around $250 (listed as GIMP mask) but the original seller did not say it had a spalding logo on it

[vintagesportscollector]

Very interesting....BTW, wasn't sure what GIMP meant, so searched on GIMP mask on ebAy....ugh :o. Even without Spalding marks, $250 is a ridiculous steal and the buyer of that new what they were getting. The original seller is probably kicking themselves over not knowing what they had. I assume it was completely wrongly listed, so most sports/football buyers wouldn't have seen it. If the original seller had at least put Spalding in the title, even not knowing what that meant, that would have pulled in the right people who would recognize it as Football. Wow!

[vintagesportscollector]

Here is the orginal listing...thanks Ron. I couldn't find this before. You certainly get a better view of the mask in the original listing, and I take back what I said in that it wasn't completely missed by the sports crowd, albeit not listed as football. Like how it was listed under "weird stuff". Still very curious of the opinion of the football folks on the forum. If I had seen it I would have gone way higher than $250. Being Spalding, I could see this going $3-5K+ maybe more?? Or maybe I am just way off...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/131609023272?ru=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fsch%2F i.html%3F_sacat%3D0%26_udlo%3D%26_udhi%3D%26_ftrt% 3D901%26_ftrv%3D1%26_sabdlo%3D%26_sabdhi%3D%26_sam ilow%3D%26_samihi%3D%26_sadis%3D15%26_stpos%3D0709 0%26_sop%3D12%26_dmd%3D1%26_ipg%3D50%26_nkw%3D1316 09023272%26_rdc%3D1

[travrosty]

this has happened before with this type of mask, one was at a garage sale and someone always got it for nearly free several years ago, but the seller figured out it must be valuable and ended up not selling it for a song at that time.

[Duluth Eskimo]

I have not seen this style of mask before. I would be interested to hear what a football helmet expert would say. How can one be sure it's a football mask? I can see why people would think as its kind of a combo mask / nose guard, but couldn't it also a early mask from another sport? Hopefully someone can provide more detail. Thanks

[vintagesportscollector]

I have seen this before. It's definetly a football mask/nose guard...that much I know. Here is a Spalding adv....see the guard on the bottom right.

208215

[vintagesportscollector]

Here is an image from Chris Hornung's football website, and the Tibi collection.

208217

[pgellis]

No doubt, absolutely football.

[Duluth Eskimo]

So is this just a portion of those displays? Was this worn then the helmet on top or was it connected to the helmet?

[pgellis]

So is this just a portion of those displays? Was this worn then the helmet on top or was it connected to the helmet?

Yes, this particular piece was strapped on your head and then you put your helmet over this.

[Huysmans]

Hey Joe and Ron,

I think some of the confusion regarding this mask stems from the fact that Clint Benedict wore a similar example due to an nose injury in 1930. Oh, I should point out for our Baseball-centric friends that Clint Benedict was a Hall of Fame goaltender in the 1910's/20's for the Ottawa Senators and Montreal Maroons. I would assume he wore an example of the type of football mask being discussed, but the fact that this early goaltender was known to have worn it, the obvious conclusion would be that it must be a "hockey" mask, hence the confusion and lack of intetest/knowledge among most collectors. As mentioned, this is just an assumption on my part.

[pariah1107]

Great looking football mask. Anyone who has not done so, I highly recommend visiting Antique footballs virtual museum mentioned above. The example of a ca. 1925 Goldsmith executioner helmet on Chris Hornung's site is one of the coolest pieces of sports equipment I've seen:

http://www.antiquefootball.com/virtual_museum_1920-1930.htm

[antiquefootball]

Hey guys,

Sorry I'm late to this discussion.

I mentioned this style mask on page 4 of my March 2015 article on the history of the football nose mask.

http://www.antiquefootball.com/nosemask_history.htm


These sole leather face guards were introduced in the early 1920's as a replacement for the rubber nosemask. Worn primarily by linemen susceptible to nose injuries, they don't come up for sale that often because they weren't particularly popular. They were uncomfortable, hot, and limited visibility.

While also unpopular, the executioner masks that came out in the mid-1920's were a better solution for players looking for face protection as they were positioned off of the face instead of directly on it.

I may do a more extensive write up on this mask as my November Artifact of the Month article.

Chris
www.antiquefootball.com