Vintage Baseball Glove Forum

This pristine inflatable Reach model no. 1 catchers body protector recently sold on ebay for $720This 1902 Reach catalog describes the "Gray Patent Protector" and was patented in 1884 by William Gray.This 1903 patent by John Gamble for George Reach was an improvement on the earlier invention by the addition of the shoulder pads.

I was up at the Hall of Fame earlier this week and they have an inflatable protector on display that they date to 1880 something. I forget the exact year, but I thought it was misdated. Its awesome to see the patent and hard to believe they were around that early.
Matt