The very first helmet logos for pro football appeared on the Los Angeles Rams helmets in 1948. Rams’ equipment manager Fred Gehrke was a former art student and came up with the idea to paint yellow ram horns on the then-leather lids. After a sample was done, he was commissioned by owner Dan Reeves to paint the ram horn logo on each player’s helmet for $1 a helmet for each game.
With the advancement of more stable plastics used to manufacture helmets by the Riddell Sporting Goods Company in 1952, college and professional teams across the country were now sporting the newer variety and ditching the leather hats.