What year did goalies (hockey) start wearing masks?

1959





Amazingly, goalies played without masks until 1959, when Jacques Plante wore face protection at a game in the old Madison Square Garden after he had taken a puck in the cheekbone from Andy Bathgate. Plante's coach, Toe Blake, pressured him to shed the mask later on, and he did for a while. But he started wearing a mask again the following spring, and other goaltenders eventually followed suit. But it wasn't until 1973 that an NHL netminder (journeyman Andy Brown) appeared in a game without a mask for the last time.What year did goalies (hockey) start wearing masks?
1959What year did goalies (hockey) start wearing masks?
1959-60 season. but didn't catch on until the late 60's.
A few goalies wore masks in practice, but one was not used in a game until Jacques Plante of the Montreal Canadiens put one on in a 1959 game against the NY Rangers.





Plante had been hit by a shot and had needed stitches to repair the damage. Against the wishes of his coach (macho was big and masks were not macho), Plante brought his practice mask into the game to protect his facial injury.





The trend took a good while to take hold as the last goalie to play without a mask did so so for the Pittsburgh Penguins somewhere between 1972-1974.