In 1902 the first protective headgear worn by UT football players was a noseguard attached to a cap-like strap arrangement. Leather helmets were adopted in 1911 following President Theodore Roosevelt’s threat to ban the game because of the number of injuries. The brown leather helmets were painted orange and white in 1931. From 1936 to 1948, the leather helmets had a white stripe across the top. In 1949 white, hard-shell, plastic helmets with an orange stripe, but with no numbers and no “T,” were first worn. (For the final three games of 1973, the helmet sported two stripes.) Faceguards were standard equipment in 1956, and standardized white faceguards were adopted in 1987. Helmet numerals (orange) on the side of the helmet made their debut in 1962, were black in 1963, and disappeared when Coach Dickey added the “T” to the side of the helmet in 1964. Orange numerals were added to the back of the helmet in 1977.