Off the Top of my Head: A Troy Helmet History

“Look good. Play good.”

While grammatically incorrect, this adage has stood the test of time. The better you feel you look, the better your performance on the job or on the field.

During Troy’s long history of college football, they have had a myriad of looks most notably recognized by the helmets emblazoned with the Troy logos.

I already compiled a (mostly) definitive look at all the helmets Troy has used since 1949, but I didn’t want to stop there.

I decided to put my ranking to the test and see which helmet was the most successful for the Trojans. My initial thought was to check the winning percentage of each set of years the helmet was used.

This led to a problem when I considered that 7 helmets were only used for 1 season. This would’ve skewed the data in favor of some of these one season wonders instead of finding real success in a helmet.

To fix this issue, I developed a very simple measure and formula for determining the success of a helmet. For any given team, there are five things that measure how successful the season is.

• Did you have a winning season?
• Did you win your conference?
• Did you make the postseason?
• Did you win in the postseason?
• Did you win the National Championship?

I used these questions to develop my Fixed Indicator Tracking Success (FITS) score.

If the team had a winning season during the time the helmet was worn, they get 1 point.

Getting into the postseason gains two points.

Winning a playoff game or a bowl gets 3 points

Conference championships total 4 points.

A National Championship nets the helmet 5 points.

This allows for a more even look at how these helmets fared when there are differing numbers of seasons spent in each helmet.

Honorable Mentions: 1966 & 1990-1991

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Both of these helmets netted a whopping zero points by my scale.

1966 was a 5-5 first season for eventual National Championship coach Billy Atkins.

The 1990-91 transition from Robert Maddox to Larry Blakeney was fairly rocky, netting an abysmal 10-11 record over that period.

#8 – Six Helmets tied (1 FITS point)

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This period, aside from the 1992 season was not a great one for the Trojans, with each only garnering one winning season.

From 1949-62, the Trojans had just one winning season and a .310 winning percentage, the worst period in this accounting of Troy’s history.

1963-65 was only marginally better with a .333 winning percentage.

Both 1974 and 1975 were 6-4 affairs with their one season helmets.

1980-83’s .488 winning percentage was almost .500, but it did set up the Trojans for two national championships in the decade.

The 1992 season was the only one with true success as the Trojans completed a 10-1 campaign.

#7 – 1977-1979 (3 FITS points)

This era featured three winning seasons. This is also the most successful period without a conference championship. Famed Kentucky coach Charlie Bradshaw took over in 1976 and led the Trojans to success.

The Trojans were able to amass a 19-9-1 record while wearing this helmet.

#6 – 1967, 1973, and 1976 (5 FITS points)

All the helmets at #6 were one season wonders, with each not only being a winning season, but netting the Trojans a conference championship. The conferences changed from the 60s to the 70s.

Billy Atkins’ 1967 squad won the Alabama Collegiate Conference and the ’73 Tom Jones (not that one) and ’76 Charlie Bradshaw squads won the Gulf South Conference title.

#5 – 1999-2003 (18 FITS points)

This helmet had a chance to be much higher, if not for the FBS transition in 2001. The Trojans were in a transitional period in 2001 and were ineligible for either the FCS playoffs or a bowl game.

The first two full years of FBS play saw the Trojans playing as an independent before the Sun Belt invited them to join. This allows you to understand why this helmet was not rated higher. The late ’90s were good to the Trojans in the FCS, though, with two Southland Conference Championships and 3 playoff appearances.

Overall, this helmet garnered 38 wins to 22 losses

#4 – Tie – 1993-1998 & 2015-Present (22 FITS points)

These two helmets brought immense success from the last two Trojan coaches to coach a game, Larry Blakeney and Neal Brown. (Soon, Chip Lindsey.)

Blakeney’s first run of success saw the Trojans make 5 FCS playoff appearances, but only winning one Southland Conference title. 1993 and 1995 were probably the most special seasons of this helmet.

In 1993, the Trojans went 12-1-1 and made the FCS Semifinals before losing to Marshall 24-21. The 1995 campaign was the first undefeated and untied season in modern Troy history (3-0-0 in 1912), but it was all for naught as the Trojans flamed out in the first round of the playoffs in another 24-21 loss, this time to Georgia Southern. It boasted a 56-18-1 record

The current Trojan helmet is one destined for more success. It has won the Sun Belt Conference championship once and had three bowl wins. There is also the matter of it being the lid that almost upset #2 Clemson, and beat #25 LSU and Nebraska. No points are awarded for these wins however. They do help to give this helmet its 35-16 record.

#3 – 1968-1972 (29 FITS points)

Billy Atkins’ best years in Troy came wearing this helmet. He helped win Troy’s first National Title (NAIA, 1968) and three conference titles (2 in the Alabama Collegiate Conference and 1 in the Gulf South Conference).

This helmet survived Billy Atkins’ retirement by one season, a 4-5-1 affair under new coach Tom Jones. It amassed a 35-14-3 record.

#2 – 2004-2014 (43 FITS points)

This helmet is unarguably the most famous of Troy’s 110 years of playing football. Troy gained national attention while wearing this lid.

The Trojans won 5 straight Sun Belt Conference Championships and made five bowls, winning two. The Trojans also put the fear in LSU twice, beat #17 Missouri and defeated Oklahoma State in Troy.

The difficulty of the Trojans’ schedules during this time hides the success of this helmet in their 69-66 record.

#1- 1984-1989 (53 FITS points)

The helmet that is the most successful in Troy history should come as no surprise. This lid helped the Trojans win 48 games (48-20-1), 3 conference championships, and 2 D-II National Championships.

Wearing this helmet, the Trojans made 3 postseason appearances and notched 7 postseason wins, the most of any helmet on this list. This helmet could’ve been much higher if it were not for the two losing seasons that made up the Robert Maddox tenure.

Conclusion

Overall, the Trojans have had a varied, yet successful set of helmets throughout the years. It will be interesting to see where the current Troy helmet finishes on this list and what new styles we will have in the future.

Let me know in the comments which is your favorite helmet.