The History of Goalie Masks

The goalie mask may be hockey's most iconic image. It adorns the covers of video games, youth leagues and pretty much everything to do with the sport. While the first masks appeared in the 1920s, their widespread use is less than a half century old.

  1. History

    • It has long been believed that Hall of Famer Clint Benedict was the first goalie to wear a mask when he donned a crude leather face guard to protect broken bones during the 1929 playoffs. Turns out he was just the first man. A collegiate player named Elizabeth Graham donned a mask during a 1927 game while with Queens College.

    Origins

    • Save for a player using one in the 1936 Olympics, masks weren't used in hockey until the late 1950s, when Montral Canadian Jacques Plante started wearing one in practice. His coach, Toe Blake, though, refused to let Plante wear one in a game until 1959, when the goalie got injured.

    Growth

    • The NHL was still a six-team league in 1959, and the idea didn't catch on quickly. However, it became standard issue in amateur and collegiate levels by the late 1960. Andy Brown of the Pittsburgh Penguins was the last goalie to not wear a mask in the NHL when he played 36 games in 1974.

    Changing Styles

    • The 1960s and early 1970s were dominated by "face hugger" masks; they were either straight plastic or a series of bars. By the late 1970s, "cage style" masks started to make inroads because they lessened the pain of pucks shot to the head, since the mask was not as close to the goalie's face. Variations of the cage style now dominate the sport.

    Masks as Art--1970s

    • Boston Bruin Gerry Cheevers is credited as being the first goalie to "paint" his mask when he added stitch marks to the front to represent bruises he could have gotten. The style quickly evolved as goalies created elaborate colors and art on their masks.

    Masks as Art--1990s

    • Cage masks didn't lend themselves to painting as much as the old face huggers, and the art form died in the 1980s. However, goalies began painting their helmets in the mid-1990s, and one of hockey's biggest fashions lives again.