Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1912-08-29
EARLY BASEBALL.
The Game In the Days When Il
Was Played With Bare Hands.
MASKS WERE NOT USED THEN.

A. Result Fractured Noses. Split
Palms and Broken Fingers Wers
Everyday Incidsnts-Ths Advent and
Development Of Protective Devices
'1'an you n,agine a modern baseball
team playing the game barehandedT r
asked a gray haired fan while discuss
Ing diamond doings Of long ago. There
would be plenty of business for the
inne settlers and 80 many errors in the
ield that the sport would develop into
n burIrs.Iue. Yet I can remember the
days when ball players never wore
gloves and when catchers had neither
masks nor mitts 1t required great
courage to face swift pitcher and lots
OF nerve to get In front Of a hot
grounlipr
Many Of our citizens who played
baseball more than thirty i've years
ago will tell yon that broken fingers.
bone bruises. split palms and torn fin-
ger nails were everyday accidents and
that Il player who showed the white
feather was tabOoed. Before gloves
and masks were Invented catchers had
endless troubles. The old timers who
dared to stand close behind the bats
men had teeth knocked out and noses
fractured by the foul tips that could
not he avoided. Soon came habit OF
putting piece OF solid rubber In the
mouth made In such manner that 1t
covered the lips and provided protec-
ton for the teeth. II proved so effi-
Client that all the leading catchers
adopted 1t. But even then 1t was dan
gerous to catch close up until James
Tying. the former Harvard player. in
vented the mask. cumbersome affair
with broad strips of hattened iron that
covered the face. but also partially OBJ
scured the backstop's vision.
Then came the catcher's gloves. one
for each hand. These gloves were of
light kid. with no fingers and little or
no padding. Catchers who handled
swift deliveries. therefore. soon found
that the gloves did not come up to the
requirements. SO it was common
thing to see backstops stuffing grass
into the gloves to protect the palms of
the hands.
One of the first National league
catchers to use a left hand glove with
fingers was Meyers of Indianapolis.
more than twenty five Years ago
Somebody made il glove for him that
t,;tlSad Oaporot in,.yh sTb., ti,,.r.,s,
were SO long and the surface of the
glove was so broad that Meyers found
II difficult mt first to hold pitched
ball He was catching the great Hen
~ BOYLE In those days. and Boyle had
binding speed Meyers had broken
all of his fingers. also both thumbs. in
handling BOYLE with the ingerless
gloves so that he readily tried the
new one. and after much perseverance
he proved that II had merit After
that all the catchers adopted u finger
glove for the left hand The glove was
improved upon when the manufactur-
er put solid leather tips on the ends of
the fingers to protect the nails
Buck Ewing. Silver Flint and Char
ley Bennett. three of the greatest
backstops the game ever produced.
were among the first to adopt the mitt.
which was II comparatively light af-
fair but made 1t impossible to injure
the fingers of the left hand As the
manufacturers gradually increased the
size and weight OF the catcher's mitt
the mania for gloves became general
The In and out fielders adopted them,
some using the mitt until the baseball
rule makers were forced to legislate
against the practice
When the rule STIMULATING the size Of
the glove to be worn was passed the
catcher was allowed to wear the same
heavy mitt. while lighter one was
assigned to the first baseman. But
all the other felders were compelled
to use a finger glove weighing not
more than half dozen ounces. Before
the In and out fielders began to wear
gloves. however. many stars made re-
markable records. Adrian c. Arson
played first base for the Chicagos for
many years barehanded The old man
was a mark for such swift throw
ing infelders as Ed Williamson and
Fred Pfeffer. who tried In vain to
make him vince. Many times Arson
went home from the ball field with
swollen fingers and very painful bone
bruises. but never used mitt or a
glove until near the end of his dia-
mond career
With the popularity Of the glove
came an improved style of mask The
wires were made smaller and stronger.
with the padding frmer Later ON the
mask had visor of leather to keep
the sun out Of the catcher's eyes. to
gether with steel protection for the
neck and throat The chest protector
came into use In the eighties. but at
first 1t was not inflated. II was a fiat
affair with bamboo frame over which
was buckskin covering. This did
not prevent catchers from being par.
TALLY knocked out by sharp foul tips
A. A.