It's interesting to see the increase in size of offensive linemen over the past 50 years.
Decade Height Weight
60s 6'3 1/8 249
70s 6'3 3/4 254
80s 6'4 1/4 273
90s 6'4 3/8 300
00s 6'4 3/8 310
10s 6'4 5/8 314
The increase in height of 1.5" in fifty years is probably little different than society in general. Weight is another story. Especially in the last 30 years. I don't see it increasing much more because I don't see a legion of 350 pound men routinely moving as well as they need to move. Although people said the same thing about 300 pound men in the '80s. There has to be a point where you see diminishing returns with the human body.
I'd love to see the numbers prior to 1960. I imagine that 1920 through the '50s would be as gradual as the the slight '60s to '70s jump. There just wasn't the same nutrition and training emphasis that we've seen in the last few decades. At the same time salaries have increased to the point where football is a full time job. Players can spend the offseason getting better and stronger. It all works out to bigger, stronger, faster. In another few decades will I be writing about players not being able to move well enough at 400 pounds?
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