Multiple accounts go as far as 1940, when players or coaches, after being injured, were wearing baseball helmets covering one ear. However, we didn’t find definite proof of one player or coach who built the first helmet with an earflap in baseball. In 1940, White Sox's second baseman Jackie Hayes made himself a helmet with an earflap after multiple injuries. Then, in 1964, Tony Gonzalez of the Phillies designed a helmet with a pre-molded earflap.