The New Heisman Winners Display at the College
Football HOF
The angels from above have descended to place a golden halo on top of
college football's "slice of heaven on Earth," The College Football Hall of
Fame. The CFHOF's recently expanded gift shop located next to the museum's
main entrance has been crowned with a stunning Heisman Winners helmet
exhibit that is sure to captivate its future visitors for many years to
come.
After
years of research, including the portion done beyond the pearly gates with the
earlier winners, the aforementioned angels turned to your favorite little
vintage helmet website, helmethut.com, and the CFHOF to complete the project.
Authentic helmet reproductions going all the way back to the days of
Heisman winners such as Army's immortal Glen Davis and Doc Blanchard through
the more modern, but still throwback, era of Nebraska's Mike Rozier are
suspended from the top of the glass walls of the spacious gift shop.
Visitors standing near the center of the floor will enjoy an unforgettable
surround vision treat that magically captures the spirit and essence of the
game's all time best.
The correct 1" black and gold fancy font player numerals are accurately
positioned on the rear of Army's "Mr. Inside" and "Mr. Outside's" helmets.
The larger diameter (and harder to earn) vintage 1970's style buckeye award
stickers along with his exact style rare aluminum Dungard facemask properly
adorn two time Heisman winner Archie Griffins helmet. The equally rare white
plastic T-Bar that protected the face of Earl Campbell is an integral
feature of his Texas helmet on display. The one year (partial season) style
anchor logo worn by Navy and its 1960 Heisman winner Joe Bellino was
a tasteful aberration from the Academy's traditional plain gold shell. How
about the unusual but correct rear quarter of the shell positioning of the
helmet numerals for Ernie Davis' 1961 Syracuse helmet which allowed for
maximum exposure to the fans while a player assumed his crouched stance prior
to the snap. A "rainbow" of tiny white award stars are appropriately arched
atop Herschel Walker's magical number "34" numerals on the rear of his
brilliant red Georgia helmet. The story has just started as every last helmet
seems to convey a subtle trace of unique magic.
The rediscovery of these historical helmets and their unique nuances is an
endless adventure. Its journey allows us to vividly rekindle our wonderful
memories of both ourselves and our past heroes. To be allowed to revisit,
even momentarily, those glorious but ever fleeting days is a most gracious
reward sent from the angels above and sincerely appreciated by Helmet Hut
and The College Football Hall of Fame.
College Football HOF Curator Kent Stephens