13 Goalie Masks In Pop Culture

The goalie mask has always had its place in pop culture. When Jacques Plante debuted his fiberglass face protector in 1959 he was laughed at, old Jacques would have the last laugh as the goalie mask has become almost (if not more) as popular as the game of hockey itself. The image of Jason Voorhees probably comes to mind first as a figure from film to don the mask in Friday The 13th and its umpteen sequels. Here we have Mr. Voorhees and 12 other instances of the goalie mask popping up in film, music, and video games.

13) Goldberg The Goalie – The Mighty Ducks

Remember “Goldberg” the tubby goalie from Disney’s “The Mighty Ducks”? Not that this is a rather exciting mask, but these movies did spawn a real-life team of the same ridiculous name.

12) Boogah Boogah – Fallout 3

If you managed to waste three and half months of your life playing through the incredibly bad-ass “Fallout 3”, then there’s no doubt you’ve crossed paths with a couple of these baddies. The mask is slightly more similar to the Hannibal Lecter model, but we’ll take it.

11) Slipknot – Metal Band

Slipknot garnered a ton of attention (and some criticism) early in their career because of the creatively grotesque masks the band sported on-stage and in appearances. This one is obviously reminiscent of a basic goalie mask.

10) M.F. Doom – Rapper

M.F. Doom’s mask is an homage of sorts to that of distant cousin and Marvel Comics villain Dr. Doom, but it’s also somewhat goalie mask-esque. Doom always appears in his mask.

9) Dave Parker – Baseball Player

In 1978 the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Dave Parker donned a goalie mask after fracturing his jaw and cheekbone in a collision. Parker, who was named National League MVP at season’s end, had tried a number of different mask styles in order to avoid missing a significant portion of time. It was still a couple of years before Jason Voorhees would ultimately take ownership of the masked look, but Parker certainly made it look pretty cool here.

8) Goalie Masked Rapist – Act of Vengeance

The 1974 film “Act of Vengeance” featured a gang of bad dudes sporting goalie masks that preyed on young women and raped them. The film was originally titled “The Rape Squad”, so what else do you need to know?

7) Casey Jones – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

“Wayne Gretzky… on steroids”, that was what one highly intelligible turtle quipped upon an introduction to Casey Jones. Gotta admit, it was a pretty bad-ass look.

6) Lord Humongous – The Road Warrior

Lord Humongous gets some bonus points because his garb was a major influence for one of the greatest WWF tag teams of all-time; Demolition. There were even a few more blatant Lord Humongous knock-offs that surfaced in various wrestling factions over the years. For a ruthless ruler of a post-apocalyptic wasteland, Lord Humongous is fairly well spoken and somewhat considerate.

5) Deacon – Zack and Miri Make A Porno

Kevin Smith manages to mix hockey into a lot of his films, but Deacon’s (played by Jeff Anderson) goalie mask in this fictional beer league is simply amazing.

4) Garth Algar – Wayne’s World

Glasses over the mask, is there anything more awesome? I didn’t think so.

3) Bombers’ Goalie – Youngblood

Sure this mask is derivative of a number of former NHL goalie’s designs, but it’s nonetheless nails.

2) Denis Lemieux – Slap Shot

Ever met a hockey fan that hasn’t seen Slap Shot? Better yet, ever met a hockey fan that can’t quote this 1977 film from beginning to end? Lemieux’s mask is considered by hockey geeks to be one of the best of all-time, although it’s only appeared in the film.

1) Jason Voorhees – Friday The 13th

Was there any question as to who would be atop this list? Jason first donned the mask in “Friday The 13th Part III”, forever cementing his look in pop culture. A number of actors have played the role of Jason Voorhees, and the movies have gone from bad to intolerable, but Jason remains one of the most recognizable goalie mask-wearing men on the planet. His look has inspired dozens of knock-offs itself, including one of our all-time favorites:


UPDATE :
Yep, we missed a fairly obvious one. Thanks to a commenter, here is a mask as seen in the 1995 crime saga, Heat.