Who Invented the Baseball Helmet?
Wearing a batting helmet now is a Major League Baseball requirement for players. However, this was not always the case. Helmets were not worn in the league until 1952 and did not become popular for some time after that. While it may soon become mandatory for baseline coaches to wear helmets, just a little more than 50 years ago the sentiment around the league was that batting helmets were for "sissies."
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Inventor
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Charlie Muse, an executive with the PIttsburgh Pirates, invented the baseball helmet in 1951.
Biography
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Charlie Muse was born on August 19, 1917, and died May 17, 2005. He worked for the Pittsburgh Pirates for 52 years, retiring in 1989. Muse was a catcher and also managed in the minor leagues. Later, he warmed up Pirates pitchers as the bullpen catcher.
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Plastic Helmet
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Muse worked with inventor Ralph Davia and designer Ed Crick to create the batting helmet. They tried many designs before deciding on a plastic one that gave the batter the most protection around his ears and eyes.
First Helmet
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The Pittsburgh Pirates were the first team to wear the helmets in 1952.
Growth
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In 1954, Joe Adcock, a player for the Braves who wore a helmet, was hit in the head by a pitch, knocking him out for 15 minutes. He swore that the helmet protected him from serous injury. This helped lead to the rapid growth of the batting helmet around the league.
Fun Fact
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Muse was nicknamed "The Colonel" due to his no-nonsense attitude and military-like approach, which hastened the invention of the helmet.
Misconceptions
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In an interview with The Associated Press in 1989, Muse was quoted as saying, "The players laughed at the first helmets, called them miner's helmets. They said the only players who would wear them were sissies."
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Comments
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jdavia
Feb 06, 2010
Well, that's *almost* correct. Charlie Muse did NOT invent the plastic baseball helmet. As you say in your article, Ralph Davia invented it and Ed Crick designed it working with Mr. Davia. They took their idea to Branch Rickey, GM of the Pirates, who loved the idea and funded the helmets' production and promoted their use. He formed a company, American Baseball Cap (ABC) to manufacture them. It is now Rawlings. Jean Davia -
jdavia
Feb 06, 2010
Well, that's *almost* correct. Charlie Muse did NOT invent the plastic baseball helmet. As you say in your article, Ralph Davia invented it and Ed Crick designed it working with Mr. Davia. They took their idea to Branch Rickey, GM of the Pirates, who loved the idea and funded the helmets' production and promoted their use. He formed a company, American Baseball Cap (ABC) to manufacture them. It is now Rawlings. Jean Davia
