The History of the Baseball Mitt

Did you know that baseball gloves were once considered a sign of weakness? Any player who wore a glove was met with ridicule, but some still persisted. In 1875, A. G. Spalding witnessed catcher Charles C. Waite wearing thin work gloves to a game and created the first baseball glove shortly after. However, it wasn’t until 1877 that Spalding himself started wearing a glove as a first baseman; his reputation as a player is credited with helping to remove much of the remaining stigma against wearing them. But it was St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Bill Doak who designed the precursor to today’s baseball glove when he added a deep pocket to help reduce impact and sold the rights to Rawlings.