Herbert Gustave "Dick" Plasman (April 6, 1914 – June 20, 1981) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who played

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

for eight seasons for the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

and

Chicago Cardinals The professional American football team now known as the Arizona Cardinals previously played in Chicago, Illinois, as the Chicago Cardinals from 1898 to 1959 before relocating to St. Louis, Missouri, for the 1960 through 1987 seasons. Roots ca ...

. He is notably the last player in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) to play a game without a

helmet A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without protecti ...

. Plasman was selected by the Bears in the third round of the

1937 NFL draft The 1937 NFL draft was the second draft held by the National Football League (NFL). The draft took place December 12, 1936, at the Hotel Lincoln in New York City. The draft consisted of 10 rounds, with 100 player selections, two of which would ...

. On November 6, 1938, he crashed into

Wrigley Field Wrigley Field is a ballpark on the North Side, Chicago, North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charl ...

's brick wall during a home game against the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

, suffering a severe scalp laceration, three fractured ribs, a broken wrist, and a fractured arm. There were concerns about him ever playing again due to the wrist and arm injuries. However, he recovered and continued to not wear a helmet—as he did in the

1940 NFL Championship game The 1940 NFL Championship Game, sometimes referred to simply as 73–0, was the eighth title game of the National Football League (NFL). It was played at Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C., on December 8, with a sellout capacity attendance ...

on December 8, 1940, and Chicago's

1941 NFL Championship game The 1941 NFL Championship Game was the ninth annual championship game of the National Football League (NFL), held at Wrigley Field in Chicago on December 21. Played two weeks after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the attendance was 13,341 ...

victory on December 21, 1941, two weeks after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Plasman entered the Air Force in July 1942 and thus missed the 1942 and 1943 seasons, but returned for the 1944 season—when he was forced to wear a helmet due to the new NFL helmet rule.

References

1914 births 1981 deaths Miami Senior High School alumni Players of American football from Miami Basketball players from Miami American football running backs Vanderbilt Commodores football players Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball players Chicago Bears players Chicago Cardinals players Vanderbilt University alumni American men's basketball players 20th-century American sportsmen {{runningback-1910s-stub