NHL UniformBooklet PDF
NHL UniformBooklet PDF
HOCKEY
EQUIPMENT
Presented by the
New York Americans, 1928-29 team
[Photo: Hockey Hall of Fame]
HOCKEY
EQUIPMENT
A Timeline
1880s
protection than to keep a player warm from the outdoor
elements.
1896 The first goaltender to wear leg pads was George Merritt
of the Winnipeg Victorias in the 1896 Stanley Cup chal-
lenge game against Montreal. Merritt strapped on a pair
of cricket pads and posted a 2-0 shutout over the Mon-
treal Victorias.
1900s
his shoulders and back from injury. Taylor took some
scraps of felt from a harness shop in his hometown of
Renfrew, Ontario and sewed them into his undershirt
around the shoulders and down the back.
Players began to use elbow pads made from felt.
1930s
also began to protect their forearms, sewing felt pads
onto to their long-sleeved undershirts.
1940s
numerous players were being injured by this latest equip-
ment innovation. NHL President Clarence Campbell in
1950: “There is considerable support for the view that the
elbow pads and shoulder harnesses being supplied to
teams at the present time are taking on the appearance
and effect of heavy armor, which, while protecting the
wearer, is inflicting much more serious damage to op-
ponents, and obviously this cannot go on. It is completely
ridiculous for us to permit one player to protect himself
with a type of equipment which is constructed in a man-
ner which can injure another. In my opinion, the present
day elbow pad does not have anything like a sufficient
covering over the hard circular piece of fiber to afford any
appreciable resilience so as the minimize the risk of in-
jury to another player and the fact that we have had quite
a number of facial fractures from “elbowing” this current
year only serves to emphasize the necessity of eliminat-
ing all dangerous equipment.”
1957 The New York Rangers became the first team to wear
colored gloves (red, white and blue). The Toronto Maple
Leafs followed suit in 1958-59, while the Detroit Red
Wings were the last team to switch from natural leather
gloves to colored gloves (in 1967-68).
1950s
1959 The Rules Committee mandated that sponge rubber
covering on elbow pads must be at least half an inch
in thickness.
1970s
the protection that Reardon was seeking for NHL players
by having material that wrapped around a player’s leg to
protect against skate cuts. The front of the pad was also
made of a new plastic which resisted puncture.
1961 CCM introduced the Prolite skate with the “Pro Guard”—
a hard plastic cover on the heel of the skate blade.
The new skate featured “armor plate nylon” rather than
the bronze mesh that was formerly employed. For the
first time, tendon protection became a focal point of the
boot. The issue of durability was addressed with the
addition of a tough, premium grade kangaroo leather.
1980 The Winnipeg Jets became the first NHL team to test a
new pant system at their training camp. The “Cooperall”
was a new pant system that was up to 40 percent lighter
than traditional hockey pants and socks. The new pant
featured an inner girdle which covered from the top of
1980s
the knee to the middle of the rib cage and an outer shell
made of a woven nylon. CCM had developed a similar
new pant system that would be worn by some members
of the Hartford Whalers during the 1981-82 and 1982-83
seasons. The Philadelphia Flyers wore the Cooperall pant
for those same two seasons. The new pant system was
designed to make the player as cool and comfortable as
possible while still offering maximum protection. The
new pant system lasted only two years in the NHL due to
the fact that the material tended to rip more easily and,
when a player fell on the ice, the nylon material tended to
propel him rapidly.
1981 NHL approved the use of aluminum shaft sticks in
League play.
1990s
to reach down to protect the lower part of the forearm.
Manufacturers also began at this time to produce longer
elbow pads.