Innovative Glove & Mitt Designs

[mikesglove]

An illustration from the 1926 Rawlings catalog. I don't think the model XLX has surface yet. One would recognize it by the reinforcing stitching on the back of the thumb and fingers and the patented "Cross Lace" web. That is one cool glove! There are a few of the model XL "Hack Wilson" gloves out there that have the Latina cross lace but no reinforcing stitching. There was about a dollar difference in the pricing at the time with the XLX being the top of the line model.


Below is the Latina Cross Lace web Patent.


Below is a "Hack Wilson"model XL with the "Cross Lace" web.

[mikesglove]

It is interesting to trace back the early attempts to keep the catchers glove pocket intact, free of busted seams.
Some of the early catchers glove construction borrowed directly from work gloves of the day. The glove below shows the double stitched sewn-on thumb typical of work gloves of the day.


The two illustrations below are from a 1887 Splading Baseball catalog. They both feature a sewn-on thumb design. There is an interesting write-up about the catchers glove being state of the art for its day.

[mikesglove]

The catchers glove below is pretty cool. The out-seam construction is so typical of vintage work gloves. The really interesting thing to me is the overlapping palm and thumb section which doubles up the leather at that point. One can see the stitching joining the two pieces. This was an excellent way to reinforce the thumb attachment seams. This was also a telltale work glove design, in fact, work glove manufacturers used this tried and true construction well into the 20th century.


Below are illustrations from a 1902 Sears catalog of the overlapped thumb/palm feature mentioned above.

[mikesglove]

The catchers glove below depicts a new patented one piece face design debuting in 1887-88. It was manufactured concurrent with the typical sewn-on thumb models.


The one piece face design was based on the 1887 Blomstrom patent.


Below is a Splading catchers glove circa 1887-88 with the new patented one piece face . It also has the cool tipped fingers. Great glove! This catchers glove design was pretty short lived. The Decker Safety mitt and other Spalding padded mitts became the norm by 1891.

[mikesglove]

Some manufacturer's designed their early fielders gloves with a two piece face.




I didn't understand the advantage of that design over the diverted thumb models that were the norm at the time. I found a 1895 Victor ad that described their thinking. The ability to form a deeper pocket was the primary motivation.



Victor was one of the few manufacturer's to offer the gloves with the mitt pattern as well as some with diverted thumb seams or as Victor called it, the "straight thumb pattern". The 1905 Victor catalog page below features an equal number of both styles.


Two Victor gloves with the mitt pattern thumb seam are shown below.

[mikesglove]

There has been a lot of interest in the "tornado palm" Spalding glove. A really stellar example surfaced a few years ago that fueled that interest. The companion glove to the "Fielders Choice" model, the "Legion" also deserves some recognition in Spaldings attempt to construct a glove with a reinforced face. They were Spalding's most expensive models circa 1925. Both gloves are very rare.


The "Legion" glove has been dubbed the "double face" model.

[mikesglove]

I was curious about the origins of this Victor Sporting Goods mitt. It is pretty unique.


I was looking through some catalogs at http://www.baseballglovecollector.com and found this in a 1915 Wright & Ditson catalog. Earlier W&D catalogs carried Victor brand equipment. Victor and Wright & Ditson merged in 1919.

[mikesglove]

Two gloves from a Victor, Wright & Ditson catalog in 1922. Note the laced webbing through eyelets. I think this was the only year for this feature. They may have been riding on the coattails of the Rawlings patented Doak web. Goldsmith did the same thing in that time period. The two laced web models below are undoubtedly rare.


Below are the same two models from a 1924 catalog reverting back to the sewn web



Below is a photo of the sewn web "Conqueror" model. A really nice example of the laced pinky construction. A very rare glove in its own right.

[mikesglove]

A couple more oddities. First is from a 1909 Simmons catalog. Continuing in the cataloging of two piece face gloves, this one is pretty cool looking. The three fingers and palm are one section sewn to a pinky finger stall and to a heel section. So technically this is a three piece face model. I like it. I don't recall one ever surfacing in the hobby.


Second is a interesting one from a 1910 Sears catalog. There was an earlier post about a catalog listing from a 1910 Wm. Read catalog. The "shoulder heel crescent" was a1909 patented design by Elroy Rogers. Rogers was a founding partner in Victor Sporting Goods and their main inventor. He went on his own in 1908 to form Rogers Sporting Goods in Springfield MA. This design was not seen in a Victor catalog. Rogers marketed the glove through other retailers.


Below is a primo example of the Rogers glove.

[mikesglove]

A Wilson catalog page from a 1922. The King patent removable lining originated in 1910 with the Spalding/Reach gloves. I guess Wilson licensed the patent for a couple of their gloves, the drab buckskin 602 and black calfskin 637 models. The Reach and Spalding examples show up with some regularity but the Wilson is a rare one.


Below is a 1920's Wilson 637 model.

[mikesglove]

OK Mfg and Sonnett came up with some interesting and innovative glove designs. This 1950's Sonnett "Double Play" model is an example.


Here is the patent for the glove design from 1953. The patent description states the joined middle/third finger were meant as a solid extra web for infielders to trap a ground ball.


Below is a cool 1980's Mizuno glove sporting an updated version of the Sonnett design. The glove may be for sale at the site below
http://brucerodgers.com/ak/sale_PreMove_07-20-2012.htm

[mikesglove]

A rare circa 1917 no wrist button model PXN, made for only a few years.

[mikesglove]

I thought this Rawlings glove was interesting in the incorporation of the "Double-Ca-Thud" pocket


The gloves designer, Akio Aoki was an outside inventor for Rawlings/ Figgie International in the 1980's till the present. Aoki's company, the Trion Corporation had an exclusive overseas manufacturing agreement with Rawlings.

[mikesglove]

Here is one you won't see every day. It is a 1937 D&M closed back model baseman's mitt.


The example below is pretty nice!

[mikesglove]

Baseball glove manufacturers worked with MLB players, maybe none more so than Draper Maynard. Below is an ad from 1935 touting D&M's relationship to major league baseball.

In 1930, Lew Fonseca approached D&M about designing a mitt to his specifications. After experimentation, a mitt was developed with its most visible feature being elimination of the perimeter lacing and grommets in favor of a leather binding at the crotch. This was done to improve flexibility and the "Flexo Model" was born. Below is and ad from 1931. The mitt also features a fixed leather strap web.


In 1932 the design of the Fonseca model was tweaked with the addition of a buckle web and laced wrist strap.


In 1934, the buckle web was replaced with a generic laced web.


In my mind, the buckle web version is the one to have. Below is an example that shows the crotch design elements pretty clearly.