Hard to imagine that even Goalies didn't have any protection - until 59, when the late great Jacques Plante received a puck in the face and decided to get back on the ice wearing a prototype mask he'd been using for practices (but had been
forbidden to put on during actual games).
I do remember guys without helmet, even well into the eighties. Heck, even when the helmet became standard, guys who wore the hockey visor to protect their eyes used to get ripped on.
But no one mess w/ the cup. :P