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Lot # 815: 1921 "Facemask Debuts in Ice Hockey", Earliest Known Image of Goalie Wearing Mask!

Category: Hockey

Starting Bid: $25.00

Bids: 12 (Bid History)

Time Left: Auction closed
Lot / Auction Closed




This lot is closed. Bidding is not allowed.

Item was in Auction "Fall Premier Auction 2018",
which ran from 10/20/2018 8:00 PM to
11/10/2018 8:00 PM



Sometimes history is discovered in innocent and seemingly unimportant ways and this is no exception. According to all those associated with the history of hockey, the first mask of any type worn by a player on the ice for protection was in 1927 when a women named Elizabeth Graham fitted something over her teeth (more like a mouth guard) for Queens University. This photo recently discovered upends this theory by a full six years as it pictures E.W. Gould of the Princeton University ice hockey team sporting a primitive goalie mask (of his own design) before the start of an upcoming game. Dated on the back from December 18, 1921 and issued through the International News, this is the EARLIEST image of a face mask being worn on a hockey rink and helps re-write the history of the game! The image is clean and bold with some handling wear from publication being the only flaw. An important piece of sports history making its debut here!

Size: 6.5x8.5
Designation: Vintage 1
Condition: 2.5/5
Quality: 5/5
Overall Grade: 7.5/10

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