The helmet of a football uniform is arguably its most important part.
The iconography of a team’s football helmet is often the most representative of its uniform — ESPN’s College Gameday always presents the helmets of the two competing teams at the forefront of its set, for example, and each player uses different styles, brands and facemasks to make it one of the only parts of the uniform they can make their own.
While many may think the Auburn Tigers have had the same helmet across its entire tenure, that isn’t exactly true. Auburn has done a few different things with its helmet since the team first started wearing them, and it has also made use of some fun throwback helmets and meaningful symbolism. Fans have seen a few different changes to the tried-and-true variant over the years.
Here’s a guide to Auburn’s football helmet and just how it has evolved to the present day:
1930-1946: Leather Helmets
(AP Photo)
When helmets were first introduced, they were made of leather — not a lot of room for creativity between teams. Auburn wore these leather helmets from 1930 to 1946, and then transitioned into the facemask-less hard helmets from 1946 to 1952. These leather helmets weren’t nearly as safe as the hard helmets that would come after, and the lack of a facemask opened up a possibility for all sorts of facial injuries.
1958-1965: Numbered Helmets
(AP Photo)
You didn’t think that other Alabama team in Tuscaloosa were the only team to wear its numbers on its helmets, did you?
Those numbers you’re seeing on the helmets of the two Auburn players in this image above — taken at the Orange Bowl in Miami in 1964 — were an addition to a similar helmet the Tigers wore from 1953 to 1957 that did not have the numbers on the side. The Tigers rocked this look until 1965, where they entered their first stable design period with a look that is likely familiar to Auburn fans.
1966-1978: The Prototype
Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
This was the first helmet to look the…