In 1935, Princeton’s head coach, Herbert O. “Fritz” Crisler, admired the winged helmets that were worn by a handful of college football teams and decided to duplicate them.

Princeton’s winged helmet consisted of a black leather helmet with an orange colored wings and three stripes running from front to back. Just as other college football teams were benefiting from the design, the wings acted as a highly visible emblem on the helmet which, when painted orange, assisted his quarterbacks to more readily spot their downfield receivers.7

This winged helmet was included in the 1937 Spalding Official Intercollegiate Football Guide. It was called the FH5 helmet and was described as “National Federation H.S.A.A. Approved.” This was a streamlined version of the helmet and consisted of:

Tan and black leather

Air-Lite cushion rubber padding

Leather lining

Six-point suspension straps in crown

Ventilating holes in crown, back and ear pieces

Slide chin strap

Spalding sold these helmets for $10 a piece.8

The very next year, the same winged helmet with three stripes graced the cover of the 1938 Spalding Official Intercollegiate Football Guide. The cover photo was taken from Princeton’s game against the University of Chicago, which was Crisler’s alma mater.8

When Crisler left for the University of Michigan at the end of the 1937 season, Princeton returned to the traditional leather helmets for the 1938 season.7

On September 19, 1998, Princeton’s football team began wearing the winged helmet once again, after taking 61 seasons off.7

Winged Helmet Controversy

Some people claim Princeton’s head coach, Herbert O. “Fritz” Crisler, was the inventor of the winged helmets when he had his Princeton Tigers football team wear them in 1935. Supporters of this say Crisler created the design to resemble, not wings, but a fighting tiger’s ears flared back. He painted the three stripes orange, matching the tiger striping on the Princeton jerseys.

This claim, however, is found to be false. Historical data confirms that Ohio State, Indiana and Michigan State College outfitted their football teams with a winged helmet, with Ohio State starting in 1930, five seasons prior to Crisler’s selection of the Princeton Tigers’ helmet in 1935.