History of the Football Pants Patent

While the first football game was played in 1869, it wasn’t until 1877 that the first piece of football equipment emerged. The first shoulder pads were invented by LP Smock, a Princeton student, 8 years after his school faced Rutgers in the first ever college football game.

These early pads were made of leather and wool and were sewn into jerseys as opposed to being distinct equipment. During the early 1900s, shoulder pads evolved into the distinct form we know today. Leather was still used as the primary material until the 1960s, when plastic became commonplace for most sports equipment.

Football pants were the next piece of equipment to be invented and were integrated into the game in the 1880s. Canvas as originally used to construct the pants and light pads were sewn in to provide some knee and thigh protection. Right before the turn of the century, hip padding became commonplace and since then the basic pant design has remained largely unchanged. 

Purpose-built shoes were one of the last pieces of equipment to be invented. Initially, players wore the same shoes they wore to work which just sounds painful. The competitive nature of football eventually necessitated shoes built for the high speed game. Cleats were invented in the early 20th century, just as football was becoming a popular spectator sport, and made playing in changing field conditions much easier. While cleats were not built specifically for football, they drastically improved players’ performance. 

In 1929, long after football pants were invented, Ralph Jones of Lake Forest, Illinois was granted a patent for a football pants design. His patent covered improved designs for football pant pads that allowed for increased protection and range of motion. 

Check out the patent