Schutt Sports Historical Timeline
In this era of globalization, nothing is as uniquely American as football. It is the Great American Game, the most watched sport in the country. Schutt Sports is a steward of the players of the game, relying on innovative technology and unique materials to try to make the game safer, more exciting and more fun for everyone.
Schutt Sports is the world’s largest provider of football helmets and faceguards and is synonymous with innovation in sports equipment for softball, baseball, collectibles and basketball. Schutt introduced many of the game’s most important advances in protective equipment, from its first faceguard in 1935 to breakthrough helmet technology in 2003 via the DNA™ helmet with TPU cushioning material.
Schutt Sports Historical Timeline
1918 – Bill Schutt manufactures and markets basketball goals and dry line markers out of his hardware store in Litchfield, IL
1935 – Schutt manufactures the first football faceguard
1962 – Del Humphrey purchases Schutt and begins lobbying to make faceguards mandatory for football
1963 – Del Humphrey develops the loop strap faceguard attachment system
1969 – Joe Namath switches to Schutt faceguards for Super Bowl III, leading the Jets to a staggering upset of the Baltimore Colts and winning the game’s MVP award
1970 – Faceguards are made mandatory for football
1972 – Schutt produces the first “Injury Special” faceguard for NFL® Hall of Famer Dan Dierdorf,
1973 – Schutt introduces football faceguards in eight colors
1973 – Schutt introduces powder coated basketball rims
1987 – Schutt acquires and markets the “AiR®” football helmet
1987 – Schutt begins producing and manufacturing football and baseball helmets
1999 – Schutt introduces the game’s first titanium football faceguard
2000 – Schutt introduces logo’d bases for the World Series
2001 – Schutt introduces the “Air Advantage®” football helmet
2003 – Schutt introduces the DNA Pro® football helmet, the world’s first helmet with TPU Cushioning in the form of SKYDEX®. TPU Cushioning is the first major advancement from traditional foam padding in helmets in 30 years
2004 – Only eight years after being introduced as an Olympic Sport, five of the eight softball teams at the Sydney Games were outfitted with Schutt gear, including the gold-medal winning USA team
2004 – Schutt partners with Concussion Sentinel to offer $20 million of free cognitive testing to every high school and college in the United States, giving coaches, trainers and doctors a fantastic new tool to determine when it is safe for a player to return to the field following a concussion
2005 – Schutt introduces the Typhoon shoulder pad, featuring climate control technology which helps the player better manage body temperature in all types of weather conditions
2007 – Schutt takes TPU Cushioning to the next level with the introduction of the AiR XP™ football helmet. It features SKYDEX2® padding, the next generation of TPU Cushioning and is the first traditional shell helmet with TPU Cushioning
2007 – Schutt brings to market the AiR Flex™ Shoulder Pads – the company’s first true professional line of shoulder pads. Designed by J.C. Wingo, the AiR Flex™ features four models, including a model with no epaulets – the first time that’s been done on a football field.
2008 – Schutt announces the ION4D™, the heir apparent to the DNA Pro – a large standoff helmet that features the next generation of TPU Cushioning in the form of SKYDEX2®. The ION4D™ also features the Energy Wedge Faceguard – a shock absorber for the helmet and the first major advancement in faceguard design in decades.
