Sports Nut: The Phantom of the Hardwood

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Sports Nut The Phantom of the Hardwood Where did the plastic basketball face mask come from? By Brendan Koerner Posted Thursday, Mar 01, 2012, at 07:36 PM ET During Sunday night's All-Star Game, the Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant suffered a broken nose and a concussion thanks to hard foul from Miami's Dwyane Wade. Bryant, though, was back on the court on Wednesday, his injured schnozz covered by a plastic face mask. In 2005, Brendan Koerner celebrated the inventor of the protective basketball mask, a little-known orthotist named Gerald McHale who helped players like Chris Webber and a high-school-aged Bryant play through facial injuries. The original piece is reprinted below. You don't have to be Wilt Chamberlain to get into the Basketball Hall of Fame. If you don't have a sweet turnaround jumper from 18 feet, the best route to the Hall is fatherhood. Daniel Biasone, aka the "father of the 24-second clock," made the cut. So did Ferenc Hepp, the "father of basketball in Hungary," and Chuck Taylor, the father of Converse All Stars. But there is one very deserving father whom the hall has thus far neglected to enshrine: Gerald McHale, the man who invented the clear plastic facemask. McHale's enormous contribution to the game has never been clearer than this week. Consider this: If it weren't for his  ingenuity, basketball fans might have missed a month's worth of LeBron James highlights. When Dikembe Mutombo smashed James' cheekbone last week, the Cleveland Cavaliers star fell to the ground and writhed in pain before being helped off the court. A few days later, James dropped 26 points on the Charlotte ... To continue reading, click here. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate Fiery Conservative Journalist Andrew Breitbart Dead at 43 Saletan: Some Media Are Accusing Romney of Flip-Flopping on Contraception. He Hasn't. Why Is the Car Industry in Detroit, Anyway?	Advertisement
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