The History of Hockey Masks

Goalies haven't always worn hockey masks. The first player to popularize the mask was Jaques Plante of the Montreal Canadians. On November 1, 1959 Plante was hit in the face by a hockey puck and heavily injured. He feared for his life and refused to return to the ice without face protection. While his coach initially was against the idea (he thought a mask would obscure Plante's vision and hurt his playing) he eventually gave in mainly due to the fact that most teams didn't train a back-up goalie at the time. Plante teamed up with Fiberglass Canada to create a strong and durable mask to protect goalies. Fans of the sport weren't to happy when hockey masks became more popular among players. They thought a goalie with a mask appeared weak to the other team. But slowly fans and players alike got used to the masks, and by the late sixties most goalies wore a mask of some sort. Some players took a step farther and customized their masks making them stand out more on the ice. Today masks are standard issue, although adult players can still opt not to wear one.

Painted Ice Hockey Goalie Masks

The customization of hockey masks began in the late sixties. Gerry Cheevers of the Boston Bruins started the trend in the late sixties. His mask had stitches painted on it, each one signifying where he would have been injured if he hadn't been wearing the mask. The brainchild of Bruin's trainer John Forestall quickly captured fan attention and increased fan support for masks. Not every painted mask had so much meaning behind it: Doug Favell of the Philadelphia Flyers was surprised one day to find his teammates had painted his mask a bright orange as a practical joke. Painted hockey masks really took off when a college player started making custom masks from fiberglass car kits. He quickly became the leading producer of custom masks, his masterwork being the "ferocious feline" mask worn by the New York Ranger's Gilles Gratton during the 1976-77 season. These days there are dozens of companies that make custom-painted hockey masks for goalies of all types. Odds are one can find a mask that conforms to one's interest and personality without much effort.

Jason Hockey Masks

When most people see a standard issue hockey mask, images of horror often pop into their head. The hockey mask became an object of fright when it was first worn by the villainous seminal slasher Jason Voorhes in the 1980 film "Friday the 13^th." Weilding a machete instead of a hockey stick, Jason became an iconic baddie. On Halloween hockey players have a ready-made costume. Due to his cultural influence, the hockey mask has turned from an object of weakness to a symbol of fear. After all, who wants to hit Jason with a hockey puck?