Vintage Baseball Glove Forum

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.

Below is a tobacco card circa 1888 showing Joe Gunson with more standard catcher's gear of the day.


The photo below Shows Gunson in the 1930's with his homemade mitt right before he donated it to the baseball HOF.