Dick Plasman
{{Short description|American football player (1914–1981)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name = Dick Plasman
| number = 14, 16
| birth_date = {{birth date|1914|04|06}}
| birth_place = Miami, Florida, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|1981|06|20|1914|04|06}}
| death_place = Naples, Florida, U.S.
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 3
| weight_lb = 218
| high_school = Miami (FL)
| college = Vanderbilt
| draftyear = 1937
| draftround = 3
| draftpick = 28
| pastteams =
- Chicago Bears ({{NFL Year|1937|1941}}, {{NFL Year|1944}})
- Chicago Cardinals ({{NFL Year|1946|1947}})
| highlights =
| statlabel1 = Receptions
| statvalue1 = 56
| statlabel2 = Receiving yards
| statvalue2 = 1,083
| statlabel3 = Touchdowns
| statvalue3 = 7
| pfr = PlasDi20
}}
Herbert Gustave "Dick" Plasman (April 6, 1914 – June 20, 1981) was an American professional football player who played running back for eight seasons for the Chicago Bears and Chicago Cardinals. He is notably the last player in the National Football League (NFL) to play a game without a helmet.{{cite news|last=NEA|title=Last man to play without helmet has hole in his head|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1893&dat=19741031&id=sNEfAAAAIBAJ&pg=820,7822066|access-date=April 20, 2013|newspaper=Southeast Missourian|date=October 31, 1974}}
Plasman was selected by the Bears in the third round of the 1937 NFL draft.{{Cite web |title=1937 NFL Draft Listing |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1937/draft.htm |access-date=2023-03-21 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}} On November 6, 1938, he crashed into Wrigley Field's brick wall during a home game against the Green Bay Packers, suffering a severe scalp laceration, three fractured ribs, a broken wrist, and a fractured arm.{{cite web | url=https://www.history.com/news/nfl-last-helmetless-player-dick-plasman | title=The NFL's Last Helmetless Player Didn't Even Like Hats | date=May 8, 2023 }} 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 on December 8, 1940, and Chicago's 1941 NFL Championship game 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.
{{blockquote| "Ferocious on his blocks, a great pass rusher and a receiver, too. The guy was terrific, a force out there. He was worthy of the Hall of Fame".{{cite magazine|url=https://vault.si.com/vault/1989/09/11/the-bronk-and-the-gazelle-fifty-years-ago-bronko-nagurski-and-don-hutson-dominated-pro-football-but-how-would-they-do-today|title=THE BRONK AND THE GAZELLE|magazine=Sports Illustrated}}|Paul (Dr. Z) Zimmerman}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Bears1937DraftPicks}}
{{1940 Chicago Bears}}
{{1941 Chicago Bears}}
{{1947 Chicago Cardinals}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Plasman, Dick}}
Category:Miami Senior High School alumni
Category:Players of American football from Miami
Category:Basketball players from Miami
Category:American football running backs
Category:Vanderbilt Commodores football players
Category:Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball players
Category:Chicago Bears players
Category:Chicago Cardinals players
Category:Vanderbilt University alumni
Category:American men's basketball players
Category:20th-century American sportsmen
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