June 28, 1870: Gloves Come to Baseball

Doug Allison

June 28, 1870: Baseball gloves become respectable. In the amateur era, using anything to protect yourself from a moving baseball was considered "unmanly." But when the 1st openly professional baseball team did it, that meant that it was okay.

And it was Doug Allison, the catcher for the Cincinnati Red Stockings, who did it. As a local newspaper, the Cincinnati Commercial, reported, "Allison caught today in a pair of buckskin mittens, to protect his hands." Cincinnati won, 30-10, beating the Washington Nationals at the National Grounds in Washington. (Today, there are teams named the Cincinnati Reds and the Washington Nationals, but they are not the same teams.)

The Red Stockings had gone through the 1869 season undefeated. They were finally beaten 2 weeks before this, by the Brooklyn Atlantics. But they were still, at the least, 1 of the 2 best teams in the world. So other teams were willing to follow them in doing something. 

A report appeared in the Detroit Free Press on August 14, 1867, of a catcher named Ben Delaverage playing for the Victory Club of Troy, across the Hudson River from Albany, New York, using a catcher's glove. In the late 1870s, gloves came into common use. At first, players had to sneak them onto the field.

But star pitcher-turned-1st baseman Al Spalding made it a manly thing in 1877, boldly donning a black glove that was fingerless but padded. Ever the entrepreneur, Spalding envisioned big sales for his mail-order sporting-goods business. Catchers were among his best customers. The 1877 season also saw the debut of the catcher's mask.

By 1885, a padded glove began to be used in baseball. The "pillow style" catcher's mitt made its debut in 1899, and the current design arrived in 1920. In the late 1960s, Randy Hundley of the Chicago Cubs developed a "hinged" mitt that snapped closed on contact with the ball, enabling one-handed catching.

Chest protectors were first worn in 1883, by a star player, Jim "Deacon" White. Shin guards were first used in 1907, again by a star, Roger Bresnahan. Since stars were willing to do it, and no one questioned their toughness, everybody began to use them.

June 28, 1870 was a Tuesday. I have no record of any other baseball games played that day. This was also the day that Congress passed a bill creating the first federal holidays. I have a separate entry for that event.