Evening journal., 1916-05-17
FIRST Catcher USED
GLOVE Al YEARS AGO
Frank McGunrigle Estab-
Iished Custom While With
Fall River Team
SOME FAMOUS
LONG BALL GAMES

II was just Al years ago. in 1875
that a baseball backstop first used
gloves to protect his hands His
name was Frank McGunnigle, and hc
was then catching for the Fall River
club. Il was in game with the Har-
ward team that he hit upon the idea
OF using gloves McGunnigles hands
we're very sore. and catching 'em with
he raw 'uns was exceedingly painful,
So he bought pair of heavy, hard
feather gloves Of the kind used by
bricklayers. After a little expert
mcnung Mac found that his mitis
were too stiff to permit him to throw
with accuracy, so he Topped of the
fingers of the right hand glove. This
worked nicely, and the novel scheme
attracted the attention OF Jimmy
Tying, the Harvard hackstop.
Tying was responsible for the next
dC,elopmeny I'm the catcher's glove.
The Harvard player lined the palm
ai his gloves with rh'n shec' lead In
odontally. it was Tying who first de-
vo'oped and used Q catcher's mask. u
vas In the same wear. 1875. that he
GCopted the glove, that TyaE donned
mask suggested by Fred w Thayer
but made practicable by the college
baCkstop
The "ironclad.' as the load-padded
glove was called. enjoyed a brief pop
ularity. but il was soon superseded
by glove invented by a Lowell play
er named Guinnasso He got pair
OF lined gloves of soft leather, cut
OF the fingers and wore them be-
meath a pair of heavy leather gloves.
This combination was a considerable
Improvement and a sporting goods
manufacturer soon began to make
a regular catcher's outfit. This con-
sisted Of glove for the left paw with
heavy padding in the palm and
with the fingers reinforced with
leather tips, while the glove for the
right hand was hngerless.
rDoc" Bushong. hackstop Of the st
Louis Browns. was the first to use a
catcher's mitt built along the lines
now in vogue. He had specially mad,
FOR his left hand a mitt that looked
like a small pillow doc" was a den
tisf, and he needed his finger in hi
business. this necessity fathering thl
Invention OF the real catcher's mitt
At first he was given the merry ha-hi
by other players and fans. but the
idea soon became popular and in Z
few years even infelders and outileld-
ers were wearing pillows. The base
hall magnates had 70 pass law
against the big mitt, and confined its
use TO the catcher
Famous Long Games.
This year marks the twenty-hfth an
niyersary Of two Of the longest games
ever PLAYED by professional clubs. on
May rs. 1891. just twenty-five years
ago yesterday Tacoma and Seattle
clubs OF the Pacific Northwest League
PLAYED twenty-five chapters before Ia.
roma finally trumphed by a score OF
10 3 Donahue pitched tho entire TWEEN
fy-ivo innings for Tacoma and finally
won out although Seattle used two
pitchers. In tho following July a new
record was set up in game between
Fargo and Grand Forks. played al
Devils Lake. a. d. Neither side scored
IN twenty-five innings This stood al
The record until 1909 when Burns o
pecatur. and Clark OF Bloomington. il
the Thrce-I League. fought a pitchers
battle for twonty-six innings, Decatur
winning. . io I. The major League
record. twenty-four innings. was estab
lished AT Boston I'm 1906 in a game be
tween the Athletics and Red Sox Th'
Philadoiphians won 10 I. The Ma
onal Leagues longest game, twenty
nnc innings. was between the Giants
and the Pirates az Pittsburgh in 1914
New York winning 3 10 l. The lonees
game last year was between Burling
.on and Keokuk. Central Association
neither club scoring in twenty-five inn
inss