Player-model, or player-endorsed footballs, football helmets and shoulder pads were first available in the 1920s when popular college coaches lent their names to sporting goods manufacturers to be placed on various sporting goods. Some of the coaches who were featured on balls during the 1920s through 1940s include: Jim Crowley (Fordham); Frank Leahy (Notre Dame); Tuss McLaughry (Brown); Frank Thomas (Alabama); and Lynn Waldorf (Northwestern).