Washington Commanders

Row 1: 1949-53, 1954-55, 1956-58
Row 2: 1959-64, 1965-68, 1969
Row 3: 1970-71, 1972-77, 1982, 1978-present (four helmets on right)
Row 4: 1978-present, 2020-present
Row 5: 1994 alternate, 2012 alternate, 2013-15 alternate, 2016-2019 alternate, 2020 alternate

1932-48: Leather Helmets

See checklist at the end for a listing of leather helmets.

1949-58

  • 1949-53: Plain dark-gold helmet, burgundy stripe, leather facemask
    • No factory pocket helmet
  • 1954: Mahogany helmet, yellow-gold stripe, lucite facemask
    • No factory pocket helmet
  • 1955: Mahogany helmet, yellow-gold stripe, grey facemask
    • No factory pocket helmet
  • 1956-58: Plain gold helmet, grey facemask
    • No factory pocket helmet

1958-64: Feather stripe helmets

This maroon feather stripe helmet is in the Throwback Series 1 and Throwback 2-bar sets.

1965-69: Arrow logo helmets

The Commanders wore the arrow logo helmet between 1965-69. For the first four years, the color was a darker burgundy. In 1969, the Commanders lightened the color.

This 1965-69 helmet is only available in the Throwback Series 1 set. The 1969 helmet is in the NFC 1969 2-bar throwback set.

1970-71: Gold helmet with “R” logo

This yellow, circle-R helmet is only in the Throwback Series 2 set. Like other Throwback Series 2 helmets, some helmets have a “R” behind or under the earhole. This helmet was also worn as a throwback in 2007.

Vince Lombardi coached the Commanders during these years. I have read that he modeled this helmet after the Green Bay Packers helmet. It does look similar.

1972-2019: Chief logo era

See section below on alternate helmets and photos

  • 1972-75: Sangria helmet, chief logo, white-burgundy-yellow-burgundy-white stripes, grey facemask
    • No factory pocket helmet
  • 1978-2019: Burgundy helmet, chief logo, white-burgundy-yellow-burgundy-white stripes, yellow facemask
  • 1982: Burgundy helmet, chief logo with tucked feathers, white-burgundy-yellow-burgundy-white stripes, yellow facemask
    • No factory pocket helmet
  • 1994 alternate: Burgundy helmet, yellow facemask
    • No factory pocket helmet
  • 2012 throwback: Plain brown helmet, leather pattern
    • No factory pocket helmet
  • 2013 alternate: Burgundy helmet, chief logo, yellow facemask, no stripes
    • No factory pocket helmet
  • 2019 alternate: Burgundy helmet, chief logo, grey facemask, no stripes
    • No factory pocket helmet

2020-present

The Commanders changed the team name and helmet in 2020. Riddell started manufacturing this helmet in summer 2021. In the meantime, I bought the helmet displayed below from Pocket Pro Helmets.com, which does a really nice job with custom helmets.

1994, 2012, 2013, 2019, & 2020 Alternates

The Commanders have worn two interesting throwbacks, one in 1994 and the other in 2012.

  • The 1994 throwback is plain burgundy with a yellow facemask. While the Commanders wore a plain burgundy helmet in the past, they never wore one with a yellow facemask.
  • The 2012 throwback is plain brown. The only time the Commanders wore a plain brown helmet was in 1932, when they were the Boston Braves. This helmet must be an homage to that team.
  • In November 2013, the Commanders donned a darker burgundy uniform as a throwback. Due to safety concerns, NFL rules prohibited teams from wearing alternate helmets in 2013. So, the helmet and uniform were mismatched. The helmet is unique, however, in that it has no stripes.
  • The 2019 Commanders throwback helmet looks similar to the 2013 throwback, with no stripes and the same logo. However, the 2019 helmet has a grey facemask, as opposed to the 2013 yellow facemask. The helmet color also looks the same as their regular helmet, similar to 2019.
  • In week 11, the Washington Football Team wore a plain burgundy helmet with a grey facemask. This is the first time Washington has worn a plain burgundy helmet with a grey facemask. The last and only other time Washington donned a plain burgundy helmet was in 1994, but that helmet had a yellow facemask.

Riddell has not manufactured pocket pro helmets for these styles. All the helmets below are customs.

2013 Photos from USA Today
2019 Throwback (left) and regular 2019 helmets

Team Sets

The old Commanders helmets are also available in two four-piece sets.

  1. The general team set helmets are available elsewhere.
  2. The Super Bowl helmets are unique to this set. See the section below on super bowl helmets.

Super Bowl Helmets

Commanders helmets are available in the normal super bowl sets and in a unique 4-team super bowl set.

Regular Super Bowl Helmets

These helmets are in the traditional and chrome super bowl sets. They were also sold individually.

Unique Helmets from the 4-piece Team Set

These helmets were only sold in this set. Note the different helmet colors, but identical super logos. The set also included a ‘hall of fame’ helmet that had nothing to do with the Washington team.

Washington Football Team Checklist

Leather Washington Football Team Helmets
These helmets were not officially made by Riddell. They only exist as custom helmets.

  • 1932 (Boston Braves), 2012 throwback: Leather six strap, brown
  • 1933 (Boston): Leather front shield, two strap, tan/red
  • 1934-35 (Boston): Leather six strap, red
  • 1936 (Boston), 1938 (Washington) (Boston): Leather six strap, mahogany
  • 1937: Leather six strap, tan
  • 1939-48: Leather six strap, dark mahogany

References

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