Why do football players wear black under eye

While the black under the eyes looks cool, you may be surprised that there is a functional reason to use this for games according to players. So does eye black work, or is a gimmick? Here is the breakdown of why football players wear eye black and more! The eye black is most common among athletes, but the eye black sticker is popular as well.

You will usually find MLB, football players, lacrosse, and softball players wear this under their eyes for games, so what exactly is this? Over the years, amateur and professional athletes have made eye black out of numerous materials. Some materials for eye black include burnt cork and shoe polish. Today, you can find most eye black grease made from beeswax, paraffin, and charcoal powder. The antiglare stickers and strips are made from a fabric with a matte finish.

The earliest known instance of a professional player using eye black came in the s with Babe Ruth. A few years later, Andy Farkas, a football player of the Washington Redskins began using eye lack during games a well. As the years went by, you would see more and more players use eye black during games.

Football players and other athletes wear eye black to improve their vision during a game. The concept is that eye black grease can absorb bright lights and sun glare away from their cheekbone and eye, which makes seeing the ball easier. His results show there is no benefit to their use. Click here to view the original article. Contact Karen N. Peart Click here to view the original article. Submitted by Liz Pantani on September 19, Featured in this article.

Black stripes are supposed to prevent this by absorbing all of the light. This makes it easier to track the ball in midair. Eye black is also common in baseball and lacrosse. In fact, one of the first people to wear it was Babe Ruth. Babe Ruth began the trend back in the '30s but the first scientific analysis didn't turn up until Since then, a few small studies have tackled the topic.

The verdict? While eye black does not appear to reduce glare, it does improve the ability to differentiate between light and dark.