Episode 91 – The Secret History of Batting Helmets

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On March 10, 1941, that the Brooklyn Dodgers announced that all of their players would start wearing batting helmets permanently in the upcoming season. It was not long after that many other teams would adopt this safety precaution as well. General Manager Larry MacPhail was the man behind this innovation. The previous year taking pitches to the head seriously injured a couple of MacPhail’s players. As a result, Larry went to George Bennett, professor of orthopedic surgery at John Hopkins School of Medicine, and the two devised a protective helmet for players.

Batting helmets have become such an entrenched part of baseball that it’s easy to forget not only that they once weren’t required, but that making them mandatory was a fifty year process, full of fits and starts. One of those starts took place 78 years ago this week, when the Dodgers announced they’d require their batters to wear a helmet invented by Lee MacPhail.

Mike and Bill look back at the history of helmets and the struggle to prioritize player safety in the face of tradition and embarrassment. Plus, happy birthday to Steve Finley and Marty McManus (and Bill)!

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