Joe Gunson and the invention of a catcher's mitt, 1888

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Re: Joe Gunson and the invention of a catcher's mitt, 1888

Postby mikesglove » November 10th, 2010, 3:31 am

The idea of a metal rod reinforcing a mitt did not die out with Joe Gunson's mitt and Ted Kennedy's patent. In 1949 Jon Gregg patented a catchers mitt reinforced with segmented metal rods that was something of an intricate engineering feat. Each rod segment in line had a slot and a tongue that was held together by a pin. The front corner of the tongue was rounded so the segments would only hinged forward to catch a ball and would resist deflection backward if a ball hit the edge of the mitt.
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Re: Joe Gunson and the invention of a catcher's mitt, 1888

Postby mikesglove » November 14th, 2014, 8:46 pm

Below is a tobacco card circa 1888 showing Joe Gunson with more standard catcher's gear of the day.
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The photo below Shows Gunson in the 1930's with his homemade mitt right before he donated it to the baseball HOF.
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