OJ Simpson walks into a courtroom....no, not THAT courtroom. A different trial. One in 1970. His strange appearance as a surprise witness in a civil suit about a football helmet creates a huge change in the sporting goods industry and the game of football. This episode covers the arms race that happens in the football sporting goods industry in the 50s, 60s, and 70s. A time when sports participation boomed, equipment sales more than doubled, and teams were trying to out-match each other with the gear they wore. New gear gave way to new styles of play, a shift in blocking and tackling. But even though gear gets bigger and harder, how do we know for sure it can hold up against the toughest parts of playing the game? Standards and testing comes into play and an organization called NOCSAE is formed. Also, the NFL comes into a new era of tough play in the 1970s. Teams like the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Oakland Raiders find success with tough play and they use their tough gear to dish out the pain. Because of players like Mel Blount and George Atkinson and the way they use their gear, rule changes get made that would in-turn change the way the game is played.