Riddell St. Louis Rams Mini Replica Helmet: For Autograph Hounds & Collectors!

I grew up in Whittier, in Southern California, and my all time favorite NFL team is the Rams. Of course, they've moved to St. Louis back in 1995, (and I've moved to Central California myself), but they are still #1 in my book.

In our 3 bedroom home, I'm lucky enough to have one room all my own; I've turned into my Sports Den. Mostly NFL stuff, the walls covered with hat racks, (remember the Paintbrush style cap?), for all teams, pendants, plaques, several signed/unsigned jerseys and a growing NFL mini helmet collection.

Riddell St. Louis Rams Mini Replica Helmet 34

These 3 5/8" size helmets come in both replica and authentic style. The difference is, the authentic ones come with a metal quarterback-style face mask as opposed to the plastic one for the slightly less expensive replica model, and the authentic also has a metal side bar to the mask.

For the 2000 Rams Replica mini helmet reviewed here, the ram's horns have changed from a bright, taxi cab yellow to the classier gold tone, along with navy blue background. The horns are the trademark Rams' organization logo, and are glued on decals.

The Riddell name is featured on not only the front and back of this mini helmet, but in case there's any question, you'll also find it on each side of the white plastic chin strap. The chin piece itself is lightly padded with tan felt, and has 2 adjustable silver tone metal buckles on each side, but does not unsnap as it would on a real helmet.

The inside of the helmet is well padding with white Styrofoam blocks, with well-rounded ear holes and a copyright sticker. Overall, the construction is solid and there are no burrs, snags or other defects noted.

I protect my mini helmet collection with clear plastic display cases, and they stack very nicely, making a cool, dresser top display. The lightweight, yet strong construction makes these perfect for traveling to Sports Memorabilia Shows or as we did in 2002, traveling to Honolulu for those all-important Pro Bowl signatures.

Kurt Warner's blue Sharpie autograph stands out nice and sharp on the gold plastic horn, thanks in part to no pitting or imperfections on the decals, and there hasn't been any blurring or smearing in nearly 5 years.

Besides Pro Bowl and Super Bowl minis, I have these Riddle St. Louis Rams mini replicas signed by: Marc Bulger, Tory Holt, Marshall Faulk, Chris Chandler, and older versions of this helmet signed by Eric Dickerson, Jack Youngblood, Merlin Olsen and Jackie Slater. An original white horned Riddell mini is signed by Deacon Jones.

I've found the Riddell St. Louis Rams Mini Replica Helmet 34 on sale for as little as $15.99, and at this price can stock up whenever the design, (usually face mask), changes or I need more for autograph shows. 5 Stars, highly recommended, and would make a better Father's Day, birthday, Anniversary or Christmas present than cologne, ties, socks, underwear, hankerchiefs...you get the idea!