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Earl Campbell Game-Worn Oilers Helmet

Among the more lustrous gems available in our auction catalog is this Earl Campbell game-used helmet. The perennial fan favorite scrambled through many defenses wearing this piece. Made by Riddell, this helmet features a white impregnated color throughout, as were most from the period. Consistent with those Oilers helmets, this one is styled with a 3/4" red-1" Columbia blue-3/4" red striping. The positioning and widths of the stripes are important determinants in isolating the vintage of Houston's helmets. Campbell's early career with the Oilers saw him wear thinner stripes which were spaced farther apart. By the early '80's, the club had modified the design to wider side stripes, with less than a half inch of white separating them. The shell is [size] "L", and it holds the "NOC-SAE" molded logo at the lower right side of the reverse. The derrick logo adorns both sides of the shell in Columbia blue, red and white. As with most helmet logos of the period, there is overlap adjacent to the outermost dominant color. The mil depth, color hues and placement are consistent with '80's style as well. The interior padding system is Riddell's WD-1 with rows of wafer-like padding covering the crown, forehead and neck back. The jaw pads are leather and original, and the upper crown has the manufacturing date ("1984") stamped in it. Remnants of the WD-1 sticker are present on the right side of the crown area. There is a partially obscured size sticker in the upper crown. Judging by the large size of the shell (which could accommodate up to 7 7/8), and the presence of the oversized green-dot mask, it is size 7 5/8. Vintage-markered "34" appears on both sides of the inner shell. These are clearly visible on the right side (above the ear hole), and then partially obscured by the jaw pad on the left. The interior padding, jaw pads and wildcat forehead band all show consistency of wear. The same can be said of the wear on the outer shell. The mask is unique to Campbell in that it is the oversized green dot cage for which he's so well-known (dating to his rookie season when the masks were still gray). This deep-red mask has the double reinforced center bar which he adopted in the early 1980's. It still has the original color coordinated red clips holding it in place. These clips are rare, brittle, and therefore not durable. (Great care should be used to handle the helmet by the shell only.) The helmet was sourced from a long-time Los Angeles sportsman/restaurateur who once owned Campbell's first Oilers helmet from his rookie year (obtained at the Pro Bowl) and his last before the Tyler Rose (better known as the "Earl of Skoal") moved east to play for the Saints. A classic piece from one of the great running backs of all time.

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