ANTIQUE 1900s Leather Football Knee Pads Estate of "DUTCH" BERGMAN, 'SKINS COACH

Description

Purchased from the estate of Arthur J. "Dutch" Bergman, which took place during the weekend of 12/13/2019 in the Washington DC area.  From Wikipedia:  "Arthur J. "Dutch" Bergman (February 23, 1895 – August 18, 1972) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, now New Mexico State University, from 1920 to 1922[1] and at The Catholic University of America from 1930 to 1940, compiling a career college football record of 74–36–5. Bergman was the head coach of the National Football League's Washington Redskins for one season in 1943, tallying a mark of 6–3–1."   Other items from this estate, including a Dutch signed photo and a football book signed by the author to Dutch Bergman, will be listed as well.
NOTE:  I AM NOT AT ALL POSITIVE THAT THESE ARE FOOTBALL KNEE PADS, but that is my best guess.  It seems logical to me that the straps wrap around and buckle up to keep the pad in place - see listing photo how that would look on one of the pads.  They possibly could be part of an early shoulder padding ensemble and the leather straps buckle elsewhere rather than wrapping around as shown in the listing photo.  A helpful Ebayer, an expert in antique sporting equipment, said he never has seen football knee pads that looked like this.
There are no markings that I could find on the pads.   The length of the seam on the convex top portion is about 12".  One of them is missing a buckle, and the other one has this buckle but the strap has detached and was found buckled into the buckle.  A layer of dust was wiped off the leather - more cleaning would be useful.  The leather on the pads feels in good condition, but could use softening.  The same can be said of the straps - good condition but a bit stiff.  The padding on the back is securely attached but small pieces are missing and a bit flaked off when purchasing, moving around, and taking these photos.  I'm guessing they probably in the range of 1920s to 1930s, but that is just a guess.  Both pads will be stored in separate sealed plastic bags for safe storage and shipment.
RARE AND COLLECTIBLE INDEED!
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