Fred Gehrke wasn’t known for his ability on the field, but what he did in 1948 did more for the game most players ever will and that was paint the first helmet logo in the NFL. Fred played for the Los Angeles Rams but during his spare time he liked painting pictures. When he realized how plain NFL helmets looked, he decided to do something about it.

After he painted horns on the sides of the Rams helmet he decided to let his coach take a look at it. When Coach Bob Snyder thought it was a good idea, Gehrke went home and worked on the horns even more, perfecting his idea. The team’s owner Dan Reeves loved the painting and paid him $1.00 for each helmet.

In 1948 the Rams trotted on the field with their new logos on their helmets. The fans loved it, but Gehrke had to re-paint the helmets after every game because the paint would come off. In 1949 the makers of the NFL helmets came out with a new brand which was plastic. It enabled the paint to stay on the helmets and by 1950, every team in the NFL had their logo painted on their helmets.

- The Wanna-be Sports Guy

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Tags | 1948, Bob Snyder, Dan Reeves, first logo on football helmet, Football, Fred Gehrke, Los Angeles Rams, nfl, NFL logo on helmet