Chicago Sporting Goods - Nap Lajoie glove

[mikesglove]

Brett, I think your earlier info on Lajoie and Chicago Sporting Goods may come into play on this Diamond Brand glove. The Shapleigh catalog had other hang tag endorsed models including the Ratsch patent duck web with the Harry Niles hang tag. All these models were twice as expensive as the rest of the gloves and mitts in the catalog. Shapleigh had contracted with A.J. Reach for most of their equipment but I believe the more expensive models were contracted thorough Frederick Ratsch's Chicago Sporting Goods. Your research showed Chicago Sporting Goods being at the forefront of linking a star player of the day to one of their gloves or mitts such as Lajoie in 1904 and Ryan in 1901. Before I send the catalog off to Jim, I'll post some other full page illustrations of these hang tag glove and mitt ads in another section. They are pretty cool. Below is another photo of Lajoie with his webless glove. I guess he just liked it that way. it is a fairly large glove for the time period.

[atabats]

I was doing some research yesterday and came across a glove ad that I'd never seen before. This is from the March 1906 edition of The Sporting Goods Dealer. Although we can never be sure if this glove actually had an endorsement stamping on it, the idea that one of these could be out there is intriguing. To the best of my knowledge, no Lajoie glove has ever been found except for a faked one a few years back. Interesting that in 1906 there is no webbing.

I think there’s a good chance that a signature stamping is on there since Nap writes in his endorsement letter, "I hereby grant you the exclusive right to use my name on ALL GLOVES made on my special pattern."