Lineman Gloves 101: The Complete Guide for Football Players
Every football player needs to use their hands in some way to be effective. Wide receivers use their hands to catch footballs; quarterbacks use their hands to throw the football; and running backs use their hands to secure handoffs and receive passes.
Offensive and defensive linemen use their hands to block and tackle. Their job can involve grabbing an opponent or moving them out of the way. In the National Football League (NFL), the size of linemen is around 300 pounds. Moving linemen and tackling runners is a physical job. It requires the right type of gloves.
Almost all linemen in high school, college football, and the NFL wear gloves. It’s a necessary piece of apparel that’s designed to help protect your hands against bruising, scratching, and perhaps other more serious injuries. Below is a description of the optimal gloves for linemen.
History of Football Gloves
Black-and-white photos of football players with bloodied hands, bruised knuckles, and gnarled fingers weren’t uncommon in the days when gloves weren’t used in professional football.
Before the 1980s, football players used gloves mostly to keep their hands warm. During games, linemen and linebackers would often tape up their hands for protection. Some defensive linemen used large gloves during games for warmth and protection, but it wasn’t common. In the 1970s, Stickum, a gooey adhesive, became popular with wide receivers. They’d apply the adhesive to their hands, which was designed to help keep a football from slipping out. The football would “stick” to their hands when it was thrown. Stickum was banned by the NFL in 1981.
In the early 80s, technology that helped make gloves “sticky” was introduced. In 1995, Jeff Beraznik, a wide receiver in the Canadian Football League, discovered that “cutter” gloves from a hardware store, which were designed to protect workers on projects that involved their hands, were effective at helping him catch footballs. In 1999, Beraznik, working with a chemist, created the blend of polymer, the sticky substance on football gloves, that almost all wide receivers use today.
Sometime in the 1980s, the use of gloves by linemen started to rise. For the most part, linemen’s gloves are designed to help protect their hands from injuries.
Why Football Linemen Wear Gloves
Gloves are a standard piece of apparel for football linemen. Below are three important reasons why linemen wear gloves.
Protection: Linemen wear gloves because they can help minimize the contusions and bruises players can get when they block or tackle. It’s not uncommon for a lineman to have their hand bump up against an opponent’s helmet or to get their fingers caught in a player’s jersey. Gloves are a protective shell in those situations.
Grip: While linemen don’t have the same sticky substance that a receiver has on their gloves, they can be beneficial for defensive players when they tackle runners. Many gloves have a tacky GlueGrip that helps with tackling and blocking. The gloves can also add a layer of support for linemen when they use their hands to bring down a runner.
Wrist Support: Gloves are designed to help linemen brace their wrists, limiting their range of motion, which can protect their wrists from injury if they fall on them or their wrist is twisted unnaturally.
Centers often have specialized gloves. Sometimes, they’ll have the fingers of the gloves cut off because they want to be able to feel the football when hiking it to the quarterback or they might wear a stickier glove for a better grip on the football when it’s being hiked.
Key Features of Linemen’s Gloves
A linemen’s glove should fit snugly but comfortably over your hand. It shouldn’t be too tight, but it needs to be secure enough to combat the inevitable jostling that occurs during competition. Below are some characteristics of linemen gloves.
Heavy Padding: Linemen's gloves have thick padding around the palm, knuckles, and fingers to provide protection against impact.
Reinforced Stitching: Reinforced stitching prevents the gloves from stretching out too much or even tearing apart during play.
Moisture Wicking Material: To prevent moisture from accumulating inside the gloves, they are typically made of a lightweight, breathable material that absorbs sweat and water.
Finger Stays: Like wrist supports, finger stays provide an extra layer of support for your fingers, which are at risk of being twisted in different directions during play.
How to Measure for Linemen Gloves
You’ll need to measure the length of your hand and its circumference to get a glove that fits properly.
Below are some guidelines for getting the right size glove for you.
Hand Length: Measure from the base of the palm of your wrist to the tip of your middle finger.
Hand Circumference: At the base of your fingers, measure above your knuckles with your fingers together but excluding your knuckles.
Size Chart: Refer to a size chart to select the glove that fits your hand best. The chart should have a range of the length of your fingers and your hand circumference that corresponds with your size. For instance, a small could be 7 to 7½” in circumference and 6½" to 7 inches for the length of your fingers.
Caring for Your Linemen Gloves
Gloves that are cared for properly can last up to two years, depending on how often they’re used. Because linemen use their hands all the time and they play on grass and turf, their gloves will accumulate dirt every time they’re used. Below is a guide for cleaning your gloves.
Wash Your Gloves: Use a damp cloth to wipe down your gloves immediately after practice and games to remove sweat, grass, and dirt.
Soap & Water: Between games and practices, wipe down your gloves with soap and water to get accumulated dirt out. Don’t put the gloves through the washer and dryer. That could damage your gloves.
Air Dry: Hang your gloves in a cool, dry place. Air drying your gloves allows them to ventilate properly, and it helps reduce odors.
Storage: Put your gloves in a dry place for storage. This releases the moisture that’s accumulated.
Getting the right pair of gloves, whether you're a professional or a high school player, is crucial to help protect your hands and maximize your performance.