Doug Favell Game Used Mask - First Ever Painted Mask Philadelphia Flyers

Doug Favell Game Worn Mask - First Ever Painted Mask in NHL History
This Doug Favell mask, created by Ernie Higgins, is one of the most iconic masks among goalie mask enthusiasts. The mask was originally painted orange during his time with the Philadelphia Flyers. Some stories claim that Favell was the victim of a Halloween prank, while other stories claim he asked the Philadelphia Flyers trainers to paint it for him. Regardless, Favell's white Ernie Higgins mask was painted to a Halloween orange before an October 31st game against the Los Angeles Kings. This mask was later painted to a striped "Sunburst" design with orange and white stripes. When Favell was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs for none other than Bernie Parent, the same mask was painted white with a giant Maple Leaf.

Favell lent the Maple Leaf mask to the Hockey Hall of Fame after receiving his new Maple Leafs Greg Harrison mask in 1974. In late 2011, Frank Servello noticed something strange while at the Hall of Fame and notified Doug Favell that the Hall of Fame was using a replica mask as a representation of his Toronto Maple Leafs mask. Then in an even stranger twist, Plante and Tony Deluca of the Vintage Goalie Mask Discussion Page discovered that a "Clown" mask which was once displayed at the Hall of Fame with a Doug Favell nameplate was actually Favell's original mask. Please see videos below for stories on how this happened.

Thanks to Jim Watson for his time and patience in this restoration. And thank you to the Vintage Goalie Mask Discussion Page for their assistance in uncovering all of the facts about this piece of hockey history. Without their assistiance, this mask would likely have never been rediscovered and would have remained hidden away in storage at the Hockey Hall of Fame.