Circa 1958-59:  Plante, Burchmore and Greenland

The Real Story Behind the Invention of the Goalie Mask

       Jacques Plante did not invent the fiberglass face mask, he was simply the first NHL goalie to defy his coach and wear a mask in a game. The fiberglass face mask was brainchild of Bill Burchmore of Montreal.

During the 1958 playoffs, Bill Burchmore, a 35 year old sales - promotional manager at "Fiberglass Canada Ltd." was in the stands watching the Canadians battle the Boston Bruins at the Forum. Plante was in goal for the Canadians when he took a Bruin shot off his forehead. The game was  delayed for about 45 minutes while doctors stitched up Plante's wound. The next day at work, Burchmore was thinking about the incident the previous night while staring at a fiberglass mannequin's head. It occurred to him that he could design a molded fiberglass mask that would fit the contours of an individual's face like a second skin. The mask would be lightweight, strong and it wouldn't hinder the goalie's vision. He wrote to Plante that summer with his idea. Initially Plante wasn't interested but with prompting from the Canadian's trainers he reluctantly agreed to give it a shot.
A Plaster of Paris impression mold was taken of Plante's face and from this a bust or “plug” mould was made, again from plaster of Paris. Burchmore had his brother-in-law Earl Thomas Patrick Greenland, who concocted the fibreglass formula in his basement in Sherbooke, Québec and actually made the mask by layering fiberglass cloth saturated with polyester resin on top of the plaster mould of Plante’s face. He created a mask that was only an 8th of an inch thick. When he cut out the eyes mouth and nose openings, Plante resembled something from the imaginations of 1950's Hollywood horror film makers. One sports writer wrote "Plante looks like a man that has died from his neck to the top of his head." Another wrote "Does Plante know that he startles elderly ladies and frightens children…"

Plante however only wore the mask in practice and in pre game warm ups. Hector “Toe” Blake, the Canadians’ coach was hostile towards the idea of his goalie wearing a mask. He didn’t want anyone to think his goalie was “gun shy”. Blake, however, allowed his goalie to wear his mask in practice.        On Nov. 1st, , 1959,the Canadians were playing the Rangers at Madison Square Gardens and at the 3:06 mark into the game the Rangers' Andy Barthgate cut across the slot and took a rising backhand shot at the Canadians goal. Plante was crouched low looking through legs when the puck caught him on the left side of his nose.  The shot was Plante's third save of the game.  The star goalie toppled and lay unconscious in a puddle of his blood. As the "lodge brother's" expression goes; the last thing he remembered seeing was "made in Czechoslovakia". Plante was carried from the ice to the Madison Square Garden emergency first aid room where the Rangers' physician Dr. Kazuo Yanagisawa, (A.K.A. Kamikaze) used seven stitches to pull together the gash and stop the leak. During this era teams dressed just one goalie and as long as you continued breathing and were more less conscious you were expected to continue playing. Despite his reservations Canadians' coach Toe Blake agreed to let Plante continue the game with his new, ghostly, flesh tone face mask constructed of fiberglass. When the goalie skated back on to the ice a hush fell over the crowd as they witnessed what appeared to be Plante's exposed skull. Plante won the game  3 to 1 and ushered in a new era in goaltending history.

BURCHMORE / PLANTE PRETZEL MASKS: CIRCA 1960’s

       Burchmore continued to rework his original design and by January of 1960 he came up with another innovation. This time, rather than using solid sheets of woven fiberglass cloth, Burchmore and Greenland used 540 ends of fiberglass yarn. The mask was actually fiberglass bars contoured to the face. This new concept weighed less than the original mask; only 10.3 oz. compared to 14oz. More importantly was the fact that it allowed for greater air flow thus making it cooler and less claustrophobic to wear. This new style of mask became known as the “pretzel” mask because the colour of fiberglass strands makes it look like a pretzel. Greg Harrison has a more colourful description; “they looked like worms crawling on the goalies face”

       Plante wore two different Pretzel masks that Burchmore and Greenland created for him in the early 60’s when he played for Montreal and New York. He even wore one when he came out of retirement in 1968 when he played for the St. Louis Blues. 

       When Jacques Plante retired in 1964 he actually started a small business venture manufacturing mass produced pretzel masks. These masks tended to fit badly; they were uncomfortable and were difficult to see out of. They fit would also chip in cold arenas as they were made with too much resin. They were strong enough but in their attempt to produce a “one size fits all”, they managed to make a “one size fits none” This mask, however, was an important first step in the development of mass produced fiberglass masks, especially in terms of a generic fit.

* Legal Disclaimer *

All masks made by the featured maskmakers are designed to protect the head and face from superficial injuries, they are not designed to protect from neck or spinal injuries. Ice hockey and other contact sports can be dangerous. No protective equipment will eliminate all injuries, If you wear a mask made by the featured maskmakers when you play hockey it is implied that you accept the risk of injury.

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