G  O  A  L  I  E    M  A  S  K  S

Goalie masks have to be one of the coolest inventions ever.  Sure they were a functional piece of protective equipment, but they actually added to the violent look of the game.  Even horror movie makers recognized the goalie mask as a tool for scaring the bejesus outa ya.

Here's a quick history of goalie masks through the ages.

1) For a long time, no masks were worn at all.  These were truly sick bastards.

2) Over time, various goalies experimented with different types of masks during practice sessions.  Here's Clint Benedict in the 1930's and Johnny Bower from the 1940's.  Clint's didn't protect much of anything and Johnny's steamed up so much he could hardly see.

3) Eventually one goalie, Jacques Plante, got smacked in the head by a flying puck just once too often, and shocked the 1950's crowd by wearing his practice mask during an important game.  That day changed the face of hockey forever.

4) Throughout the 1960's, goalies slowly began wearing masks.  Here are some early "pretzel" style masks.

5) The 1960's had some great masks.  Here's one of my favorites worn by the great Terry Sawchuk and another by Gilles Vellimure.

6) Then the crazy 1970's hit and goalies began to decorate and expand the mask size.  Gerry Cheevers started the trend by drawing stitches on his mask whenever the puck hit him in the face.  It took off from there, like Doug Favell's starburst.

7) During the 1980's mask design took a turn for the worse.  At first goalie's added too much artwork.  This just made their masks look ridiculous.  Then as the 1990's took over, the trend went in the opposite direction and had absolutely no design at all....just a boring helmet and face cage.  Sadly, the great era of masks was clearly gone for good.

8) Luckily the 2000's brought some further innovation and the re-emergence of design and character.  The protective qualities of the mask took the forefront while using the best features of the previous mask types. This blended style combines the old molded head cover with a cage-like face shield.

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