The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1912-07-05
'EARLY DAYS
Of BASEBALL
Used to Play Without Gloves
and Masks.
Fractured Noses and Broken Fin
gers Were Everyday
Incidents.

asked a gray haired fan while discuss
ing diamond doings of long ago. There
would be plenty Of business for the
bone settlers and so many errors In the
field that the sport would develop into
a buriesque. Yet ] can remember rhe
days when baN players never wore
gloves and when catchers had neither
masks nor mits. 1t required great
courage TO face a swift pitcher and lots
Of nerve TO get in front of "a no,
grounder.'
Many of our citizens who played
baseball more than thimy-five years
ago will tell you that broken fingers,
bone bruises, split palms and torn fin
ger nails were everyday accidents and
that player who showed the white
feather was tabooed. Before gloves
and masks were invented catchers hal
endless troubles. The old timers who
dared to stand close behirtl the bats
men had teeth knocked out and nos IS
fractured by the foul tips that could
not be avoided. Soon came a habit of
putting a piece Of solid rubber in the
mouth made in such a manner that II
covered the lips and provided protsc-
ton for the teeth. II proved SO eff
Client that all the leading oeatchers
adopted 1t. But even then 1t was dan
gerous 20 catch close up until James
Tying. the former Harvard player, in
vented the mask, cumbersome affair
with broad strips of flattened iron tina,
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 o.
no padding. Catchers who handled
swift deliveries, therefore, soon found
that the gloves did not o,ome up to the
requirements, 80 1t was common
thing 10 see backstops stuffing grass
into the gloves to protect the palms Of
the hands
One of the first National league
cltchers to use left hand glove with
fingers was Meyers of indianapolis.
more than twenty-five years ago.
Somebody made a glove for him that
caused general laugh. The fingers
were so long and the surface of the
glove was 50 broad that Meyers found
1t difficult at first to hold pitch I'd
ball He was catching the great Hen
ry Boyle in those days, and Boyle hal
binding speed. Meyers had broken
all of his fingers. also both thumbs. in
handling Boyle with the fingerless
gloves, SO that he readily tried the
new one. and after much perseverance
he proved dhat 1t had merit. After
that all the catchers adopted finger
glove for the left hand. The glove was
improved upon when the manufactu r-
ar 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 a comparatively light af-
fair. hut made it impossible to injurc
the fingers of the lett hand As tho
manufacturers gradually increased the
size and weight of the loatcher's mitt
the mania for gloves became general,
The in and out fieldens adopted thera,
some using the mtt until the baseball
RUE markers We're forced to legislate
against the practice.
When the rule STIMULATING the size of
the glove TO be worn was passed the
catcher was allowed 10 wear the same
heavy mitt, while hgi,ter one was
assigned to the first basemani But
all the other fielders were compelled
TO use finger glove weighing not
more than half dozen ounces Before
the In and out fieldes began to wear
gloves. however, many stars made re-
|
played first base for Chicagos for
many years bareAaanded. The old man
was mark for such awi6t ahrnw-
Ing infeldes as Ed Williamson and
Fred Pfeffer, who tried In vain to
make him Vince. Many times Ansor
went home from the ball field with
swollen fingers and very painful bone
bruises, hut never used mitt or a
glove until near the end Of his dia-
m0nd career.
With the popularity of the glove
; came an improved style OF mask. The
wires were made smaller and stronger
with the padding firmer. Later on the
mask had visor of leather 10 keap
the sun out Of the oa&cher's eyes. to-
gether with steel protection for the
neck and throat. The chest protector
tcame into use In the eightaes. but Al
first It was not Inflated. 1t was q flat
Iaf 6atr NTH q haS,,l,<,<, fuosoa o>,Ar ~,hloh