Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-02-06
HOW BIG GLOVE CAME
INTO GENERAL USE
Fielding Side of Base Ball Was
RevoIutionized by introduce
ton of Large Mitten.
By W. A. Phelon.

The Heldtng side OF base ball is an en-
tirely different proposition from the same
thing thirty years ago. even twenty years
ago. Big gloves-huge, fat mittens, for
the catcher, guards Of little smaller size
for the first baseman and good. well-pad-
ded armor for the f1elder's hands-these
defenses have changed the whole aspect
Of the sport so far as fielding is con-
cerned, and made the game harder for
the batsman, easier for the fellows on de-
Tense.
Our daddies didn't use any sort of
gloves when they played the game. and
they took swift pitching without muir
muir. while they handled. the fast throws
to first and the bullet drives across the
infleld with stole bravery. 1t wasn't such
a strain on the outf1elds-not often is an
outfield fly hit hard enough to hurt-but
what time our daddies had as they
Skinned around the diamond.
Some thirty years back clumsy glove.
with a channels or buckskin palm, very
thin against shock. and with fingers of
thick sole leather, was introduced for the
use Of the catchers and first basemen.
This glove would be a joke today. and
even the Outfielders wouldn't use 1t. One
thing that must be remembered is this:
The method Of taking a ball was absolute
ly different in the old time from the way
we catch it now. The fielder OF today
does his best to receive the shock upon
the thioilly padded palm, and even bur-
rows pocket in the glove to insure the
balls coming against the palm at every
whack. Not SO in the long ago.
The Oldtime Way.
In those days. when there were no
gloves, or only these leather-tipped things
for the catcher and first Dagger. the palm
was kept out Of the way. IL possible, for
there was a swell chance Of stone
bruise. Ever get one? Lordy! lordy.
How they hurt! and how they stick by
you! The writer had one that lasted for
three years, but that is DEPRESSION.
Anyhow. the oldtimers aimed to catch the
ball in trap or spripgbox made of the
fingers. They showed wonderful deftness
in taking every pitch and every throw
upon the fingers, and seldom let it strike
the palm. Once in a while. however,
there was miscue, and either stone
bruise or a split hand resulted. The fin-
gers. too. gave way before the shock,
and most of the oldtime players had their
digits twisted, gnarled and horribly dis
torted.
II was 1888 or thereabouts when the big
glove sprang into being. Harry Decker a
catcher. notorious afterward for crooked
business deals. and Ted Kennedy. fine
old pitcher. were among the pioneers in
the field of glove-making. Instantly, all
over the country. ti.1 Decker or Kennedy
gloves were eagerly adopted. They were
good, fat, well padded gloves, too, and
none OF the modern mittens has much
on either pattern.
The catchers learned with marvellous
speed how to take the play upon the fat.
safe palm, and 80 did the first basemen,
although the latter still had to work the
finger tips to dig up wild throws. Right
away-in q single season-the catching
averages began to rise, and the stolen
base records began to go. -
The coming Of the big glove. in short.
meant cinch for catchers. and meant the
death of base-running. When the catcher
had to take the pitch in the thin, leather
tipped glove, the shock OF the fast ball
drove him back and made his hands give
way to save the bump. This gave the
>unner an elegant start and saved him on
| the slide. With the big glove the catcher
could come forward with the reception of
the pitch and snap the ball like lightning,
beating the runner right along.