When people think of the Michigan Wolverines, one of their first thoughts is probably the iconic winged helmet.
Whether you’re a football fan or not, if you turn the television on, and see the Wolverines — you know exactly which team they are based on the helmet. Going back to the late 1930’s Michigan has had the winged helmet, and fans find it one of the sharpest looking helmets in all of football.
It depends on who you talk to, but different rankings list the Michigan helmet in the top five of any helmet out there in college football. Not only do recruits want to play in the biggest stadium in football, but they dream about wearing the winged helmet.
While some changes are enormous, through the years Michigan has made changes to its helmet and you can see what all of those are below.
List
Post spring edition: Ranking the Big Ten’s starting quarterbacks
1938-1956
Coach Fritz Crisler, right, of the Michigan Wolverines talks to George Ceithaml, captain and quarterback of the Wolverines, at spring practice in Ann Arbor, Mich., April, 3, 1942. There are rumors that coach Crisler will be in charge of gridiron activities at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station next fall. (AP Photo)
The most old-school helmet photo we could find. Coach Fritz Crisler wanted to spice up the solid color helmet by putting the maize winged feature on the leather helmet.
1957-1965
Halfback Ron Johnson of Michigan is stopped after a short third period gain by Michigan State defensive back Bill Ware in Ann Arbor, Mich., Oct. 14, 1967. (AP Photo/Preston Stroup)
Michigan got away from the leather helmet, and most of the Wolverines had a two-bar face mask on their helmets. The players had their numbers on the side of the helmet.
1971-1981
Oct 26, 1974, Ann Arbor, MI, USA; FILE PHOTO; Minnesota Golden Gophers defensive end Dan Christensen (86) attempts to bring down Michigan Wolverines quarterback Dennis Franklin (9) at Michigan Stadium during the 1974 season. Mandatory Credit: Malcolm Emmons-USA…