The History Of Baseball Gloves

What did old ballplayers use back in the day? Well, nothing. Players would use their bare hands up until the late 1800’s. And to make things even tougher on their hands, gloves were actually discouraged as you were considered "weak" if you wore a glove in baseball's early days. Players would regularly injure their thumbs or pinkies, often having to pop dislocated fingers back into place and continue playing. The sacrifice for the team was real - and real painful.

The First Glove Ever Used

Finally, in 1870, Doug Allison wore a pair of buckskin mittens to handle the position of catcher. These mittens not only protected his hands but offered him a competitive advantage as they allowed him to stand much closer to the batter while other catchers stood quite a ways back from the batter (in order to protect their hands from the high velocity of pitches being thrown to them).

Early Pioneers and the Start of an Industry

Five years after Allison's innovation, Charlie Waitt of the St. Louis Brown Stockings brought out a half-fingered glove to first base to help him handle sharp throws from his infielders in 1875.

Following what he believed was Charlie Waitt's lead (it was actually Allison's) Albert Spalding started sporting a glove on the diamond as well. We bet that name sounds familiar? Before becoming a sporting goods tycoon,  Albert Spalding was a star pitcher for the Boston Red Stockings in the 1870s. During his final playing days in 1877, he was making the move from the mound to first base and he felt the need to begin rocking some protection on his hands.

Some speculate that Albert Spalding had business profits in mind when he sported a glove over at first base. He already had a fledgling sporting goods business and was selling specially designed ballgloves for baseball players. Along with other products, ballgloves would help take his sporting goods business to incredible heights. To this day, "Spalding" remains a name well-recognized across multiple sports.

Ultimately, with the help of Allison, Waitt and Spalding; baseball gloves were the norm by the turn of the 20th century.

The Game-Changing Innovation of 1920

Things moved slowly in regard to baseball glove innovation through the early 1900s. Gloves were designed to look like hands, shaped with individual fingers and meant to catch balls in the palm. Finally, in 1920, a St. Louis Cardinals pitcher named Bill Doak came up with a design to replace the crude webbing that had existed in gloves.

Doak created a web with a system of reliable and sturdy straps between the thumb and index finger. This advancement would increase the catching area of the glove and help create what is now known as the "pocket" of the glove (section of glove that sits right below the web and is the most advantageous spot for catching a baseball). For the first time in baseball history, players didn't have to catch the ball with their palms. This new web design allowed defenders to be much more proficient at catching. Thus improving their ability to transfer the ball to their throwing hand and subsequently increasing their throwing accuracy too.

Doak went on to patent his design and sell it to Rawlings. (Ever heard of them?) Rawlings took this design and ran with it, surpassing Albert Spalding as the go-to glove provider during that era. Fast-forward and Rawlings is now the glove provider of over 50% of professional ballplayers today.

Watch below to catch a brief overview of Rawlings history which includes the Bill Doak glove:

Competition Heats Up: Wilson Enters the Scene

What happened next? Competition. Enter Thomas E. Wilson and his own Wilson-brand baseball gloves. Wilson launched their first catcher's mitt in 1922, called the Ray Schalk catcher's mitt, which set the standard for design, comfort, and padding.

The Revolutionary A2000

In 1957, Wilson created a model that would change the game forever: the A2000. This glove featured Wilson's revolutionary "snap action" technology - a curved design at the heel that allowed the thumb and heel to operate separately from the pinky fingers. The A2000 had a deeper pocket and closed shut like a pair of jaws, with a longer thumb that naturally formed the hand into a U-shape perfect for securing baseballs.

Now, infielders and outfielders were snatching grounders and fly balls with ultimate ease. The deeper pocket meant players could catch balls in the web rather than in their palms, and the streamlined design made transfers quicker than ever before. This specific line of glove might have played a factor in why no batter has been able to surpass the .400 batting average mark since it was released.

After a decade of tweaking and testing, Mr. Wilson got his brand's glove to be 5-10 ounces lighter than any of his rivals. Wilson gloves had the breathability, durability, and foam-like padding that players were looking for. All things that the competition was missing out on. Today, Wilson continues to be a star of the glove market with 3 high-quality series of baseball gloves: the A2K, the A2000 and the A1K (later known as the A1000).

The Unsung Hero of Early Glove Innovation

While Rawlings and Wilson remain two top glove brands, one company deserves recognition as an unsung hero of glove innovation: Denkert. Based in Gloversville, New York, Denkert was actually ahead of its time in many ways.

In 1955, Denkert was approached by Phil Rizzuto to create a glove with a deeper pocket design. Although historians often credit Wilson with the snap-action revolution, Denkert had actually patented similar deep-pocket technology years earlier. The company worked with many New York teams, including the Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Giants, and Yankees.

Sadly, Denkert's story ended in the 1970s when the EPA's Clean Water Act of 1972 shut down many American tanneries due to environmental concerns. The expensive water treatment processes required to meet new regulations forced many glove manufacturers, including Denkert, to either move overseas or close their doors entirely. 

Watch below as we had KC Mack of Mack Provisions on our Beyond the Glove Podcast to discuss the history of gloves and specifically the innovation of Denkert:

While Rawlings and Wilson were battling for American dominance, another name would enter the scene that would shortly gain global recognition. Mizuno Corporation was founded in 1906 by Rihachi Mizuno in Japan. By 1913, Mizuno was producing high-quality baseball gloves. Slowly, Mizuno's high level of craftsmanship and new glove technology was introduced to baseball players in the United States. During the latter half of the 20th century, Mizuno had become a baseball glove giant not only in Japan and the United States but throughout the world as well. To this day, you can find tons of Mizuno gloves listed on the JustGloves site.

One of Mizuno’s most popular offerings is their Mizuno Prospect Series for young ballplayers. They say for the price you get one of the best gloves when you settle in with a Prospect. The V-Flex notch helps initiate the closure of the glove. And don’t forget, Mizuno has a patent on their “ Power Close” technology that helps you close the glove and catch the ball like no other.

Handcrafted in America: The Nokona Story

Another big player in the ball glove game came into play during the 1930s in Nocona, TX. Nokona is known for its elite handmade glove construction.  

The Storey family founded Nokona and has kept the company family-oriented ever since. The Nokona business plan is simple, yet meticulous. The company buys raw materials in the United States and employs highly skilled leather crafters in the small town of Nocona, Texas. These elite gloves are assembled by hand from more than 20 individual pieces of leather.

Nokona Athletic Goods provides gloves for slow pitch softball players all the way to professional baseball players. Nokona currently has over 30 professional ballplayers endorsing their gloves.

Modern Era Regulation and Advanced Technology

1990s

The evolution of baseball gloves didn't stop in the mid-20th century. As glove technology advanced and sizes grew larger through the 1980s, Major League Baseball stepped in during the early 1990s to establish official regulations. Glove length limits were implemented to ensure fair play and prevent defensive advantages from becoming too extreme, helping standardize what we see on professional fields today.

Within these regulatory boundaries, performance technology has continued to advance dramatically. The late 1990s brought Wilson's SuperSkin technology: a synthetic material that's twice as strong as regular leather but weighs half as much, developed after Barry Bonds requested a lighter outfield glove that didn't sacrifice performance. 

2020s

The 2020s introduced Rawlings' revolutionary REV1X technology, incorporating 3D-printed materials using Carbon's advanced manufacturing processes to create gloves with precisely engineered backing that maintains perfect shape while being lighter and more durable than gloves with traditional construction. 

These innovations represent the ongoing quest to enhance player performance through cutting-edge materials and design, all while staying within MLB's established guidelines.

Timeline: Key Moments in Baseball Glove History

• 1870 - Doug Allison first uses a glove to play the catcher position
• 1875 - Charlie Waitt is recorded using a glove at 1st base
• 1877 - Albert Spalding also uses a glove at first base while selling gloves in his sporting goods store
• 1913 - Mizuno begins creating baseball gloves in Japan
• 1920 - Bill Doak creates a "web" system for baseball gloves & sells his patent to Rawlings
• 1934 - Nokona makes their first baseball glove
• 1957 - Wilson creates the revolutionary A2000 glove with snap-action technology
• 1972 - Clean Water Act forces many American glove manufacturers overseas or out of business
• Early 1990s - MLB establishes official glove length regulations
• Late 1990s - Wilson introduces SuperSkin technology for lighter, stronger gloves
• 2020s - Rawlings launches REV1X with 3D-printed materials; colorful designs explode in popularity

The Evolution Continues

From Doug Allison's original crude buckskin mittens to today’s 3D-printed masterpieces, the baseball glove has traveled an incredible journey. With advances in materials, science, and manufacturing technology, who knows what the next breakthrough will be?

So, the next time you slip on your mitt, just remember you're carrying forward over 150 years of baseball history and the dreams of countless players who helped shape the game we love.

If you have any questions about baseball gloves or softball gloves, please give our Glove Experts a call at 866-321-4568 or  Live Chat now. They are available and will be there for you from click to catch!