First Cup used in Hockey 1874, First Helmet Used in 1974. 100 Years? Really?

I saw a comment about this on Facebook the other day and it struck me funny. I had to sit down immediately and do some quick research and found that it was true. In 1874 the first "testicular guard" known as the "cup" was used in hockey, to protect the family jewels. In 1970 and 1971 we began to see goalies use helmets and masks for face protection, but it was not until 1974 that we saw players begin to wear helmets as a team. 100 YEARS? 100 Years later men finally decided that we should protect our brains? I am still in shock after reading this over and over again. I can understand a little that men were probably only thinking of pain first. If you were struck between the legs with a hockey puck traveling at 90 miles an hour you will be throwing up in pain for the next week even after the surgeon removes your stomach from your throat. But, if you are struck in the head with a hockey puck at 90 miles an hour you are going to wake up in the hospital because it will knock you out. No one was thinking of brain damage back then, example Muhammad Ali and the struggles he goes through now. Even Jim McMahon who played in the 80s cannot even name players he played with because of the brain damage he received from football hits. So obviously we were not educated enough to think about brain damage, but lets think of this from another angle. What about the face? For 100 years hockey players thought, "my face may look like a Picasso painting, but as long as my man hood works she will be turned on to me."? Really? I thought this and then just google photos of hockey players. It is hard to find a hockey player with a full set of teeth or a straight nose. I mean I know every woman out there thinks Wayne Gretzky is the hottest thing to come from hockey, but he got lucky or plenty of plastic surgery. There are other questions regarding this to be answered. NBA players and NFL players are known for having illegitimate kids running around everywhere, but you do not hear this from hockey players. Is it because not all of them are wearing the cup or because they are wearing the cup but should have worn a face mask. So this could point to the fact gentlemen that you may have protected the family jewels, but it still takes a pretty face to get a woman's attention. 100 years? Really?
Still confused........from the beach (with sunscreen protecting my face).........Brian