Helmet sticker

ESPN says the practice of awarding helmet stickers is often wrongly credited to Ernie Biggs, also an athletic trainer at Ohio State under legendary coach Woody Hayes.

[1] They instead claim that the practice of awarding stickers began with Jim Young, former assistant coach at Miami in 1965, two years before they were used by the Buckeyes.

[2] Stauber routinely used stickers throughout his tenure as assistant coach at Illinois (1960–1970), as a 1962 photo of All-American linebacker Dick Butkus indicates.

[4] Michael Pellowski, in his book Rutgers Football: A Gridiron Tradition in Scarlet, credits Rutgers defensive backs coach Dewey King with being “one of the first” to award decals for helmets in 1961.

Every time there was an interception, the crowd yelled “give him the star.” The stars can be seen in a photo of the 1961 team walking from the locker room to the field prior to the season finale against Columbia.