Students of BPHS have been playing the game of football for over 50 years now, since the early-mid 1900s, and most aspects of the sport throughout this time have remained relatively the same. However, the team’s helmets have been constantly changing with different color schemes, logos, patterns, and designs. BPHS alum and German teacher Christopher Tobias has decided to make something special out of these retired head protectors.

You see, according to an article written by Vicki Flotta on BPSD’s website, Mr. Tobias is planning on creating “a permanent display of helmets the football team has worn over the years,” and, when asked about his inspiration for the idea, Tobias’ reply was that, “I was cleaning out my attic this summer and found two old BP football helmets.  One was the helmet I wore when I played for the Black Hawks as a junior…The other was a helmet that the Hawks wore from 1980-83 that was given to me by my cousin Terry Riddle…an all-conference linebacker at BPHS. I wanted to find a way to let people see these pieces of BPHS history, and after thinking about it for a while, I came up with the idea for the BP Helmet Project.”

Therefore, if anyone who has ever played football for the high school’s varsity team still has a helmet that they’d be willing to give to the cause, feel free to send them over to Mr. Tobias or to Daniel Sloan, Bethel’s Athletic Director. These pieces of head protection can be from any year as long as they were used by a football player of BPHS. According to Tobias, they will be collecting these helmets “for as long as people continue to donate them…” If your helmet does not get put in the final display, though, and if you “provide proper contact information,”  you will get it back.

More or less, the headgear, currently being collected and restored, will be showcased in the school, in a location that has not yet been determined, for years to come. It will be a tangible timeline of the history of the BPHS football team, and will prove to be a visible demonstration, if you will, of the fact that football, and life, for that matter, is constantly changing.