Albert Spalding’s Invention Of The Baseball Glove
“I found that the glove, as thin as it was, helped considerably, and inserted one pad after another until a good deal or relief was afforded” -Albert Spalding. Spalding had played on the Boston Red Stockings, today’s Red Sox, and pitched game after game and wore out his hands like all other players. So after he left the team, he managed and part owned the Chicago White Stockings, Today’s white Sox. In 1876 Spalding created and started selling the first professional baseball gloves. He sold them at his store, Spalding Sporting Goods, which he had opened earlier in 1876. After he had died in 1915 he was accepted into the Baseball Hall of Fame the year it opened in 1939. Albert Spalding created the first professional baseball glove, he applied past knowledge to innovate ways to prevent baseball injuries, and illuminated the world by making baseball safer.
Albert G. Spalding created the first major league baseball glove. “Wearing a glove just wasn’t manly” said Smithsonian. It used to be that the strongest player on the field was whoever had the most broken fingers or blisters, but after a while, players realised they
…show more content…
could play better without injuries. In the late 1800s, a glove could be anything that covered a player’s hand to protect it, because gloves made specially for baseball weren’t in stores until 1876. Spalding said “Now, I had for a good while felt the need of some sort of hand protection for myself.” It took ten years, but when most players started wearing baseball gloves, there were by far fewer injuries. It’s amazing how such a small leather hand covering has prevented so many big injuries. Spalding innovated and applied past knowledge of his experience in professional baseball to impact his glove design. When he played baseball for the Red Stockings he saw several players that used a glove and their hands were in better shape than other players. “He confessed that he was a bit ashamed to wear it, but had it on to save his hand.” Spalding describes a conversation with Waite about Waite’s glove. So when he designed the glove he made the glove with several layers of padding, because that was what gloves were originally for. Spalding also included one more thing in his design, he included a hole in the back for the air to flow through,like he had seen on Waite’s glove. “He added that the opening in the was for the purpose of ventilation.” Spalding tells about Waite’s description of his glove. Knowledge from Albert Spalding’s past experience with baseball helped him in the design of the key parts of baseball’s first protective gear. Spalding’s gloves have made a big impact on society and baseball. Baseball gloves have made baseball less painful and more enjoyable. “I found that the glove, as thin as it was, helped considerably, and inserted one pad after another until a good deal or relief was afforded” said Albert Spalding about baseball gloves. A large amount of relief is experienced by all of the millions of people who own a glove. “There was a lot of differences in the game, not least of which is the fact that much of the throwing was underhand.” said Smithsonian. So when gloves were made, they allowed the game to be more competitive by allowing players to throw harder, faster, and overhand. Spalding’s baseball gloves made a positive impact on the game, because when the sport got harder, a glove made it safer. “Once thought a sign of weakness, the baseball glove has become an iconic piece of equipment” (Smithsonian, July 16 2013) Albert G.
Spalding was the innovative creator of the first protection in baseball, the glove. Spalding was a pitcher for the Boston Red Stockings and became the first well known player to use a fielding glove, he was the manager and part owner of the Chicago White Stockings, and the founder of his company Spalding sporting goods. Spalding sporting goods started in 1876 and became the the first company to make major league baseball gloves. They also published baseball's first official rules guide. Spalding made it into the Baseball Hall of Fame the year it opened in 1939. He died in San Diego CA on September 9, 1915, but still is one of the most recognized names in baseball
history.
The differences between black and white players has been going on for a long time since the early 1920’s. The players have always been at each other since the Negro Leagues have been around. There were two players that made the transition from the Negro Leagues to the Majors and those players were Satchel Paige and Jackie Robinson. Most people know of Robinson more than Paige because of the Brooklyn Dodgers recruiting him from Kansas City Monarchs. Satchel Paige was a pitcher from the Kansas City Monarchs like Robinson but he was recruited to the Cleveland Indians at the time. Paige has changed baseball today because he has shown new ways to pitch, broke the racial barrier with Robinson, and was an influence on many players in todays day.
“In 1946, there were sixteen Major League Baseball teams, with a total of 400 players on their rosters, every one of the players was white. But when opening day came in 1947, that number dropped to 399, and one man stood apart. (42 2:30)” Jack Roosevelt “Jackie” Robinson made his Major League Baseball debut on April 15, 1947, as a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Making Jackie Robinson the first African-American to play Major League Baseball (MLB). Jackie’s transition from the Negro Leagues to MLB was not an easy one. As a player, he transitioned very well, but it was Robinson’s teammates, Dodgers fans, the opposing teams and their fans that tested Jackie every chance they got, some hotels even prohibited the Dodgers to stay in their establishments
Rader states that baseball was founded by Abner Doubleday in 1839 at Cooperstown, New York. In the next couple decades, the game developed the simple concept of bases. After having bases introduced into the game, the kids in bigger cities started club based teams which played each other. These teams started to develop a personal passion and respect for baseball which led them to adopt written rules. He conveys the idea of fellowship within the team and how the players celebrated all aspects of the game. He gives an example of a club team called the New York Knickerbockers and how they celebrated with their opponents and teammates whether they won or l...
When he was attending a St. Louis school, dressed head to toe in tweed, one of his classmates decided there and then to give him the moniker Tweed. He started playing baseball, creating his own team named “Tweed's Blacksox” from kids around Garfield and Compton Street when he was ten. He managed that team until 1921, when his father took over and renamed them “St. Louis Blacksox”. That baseball team finally received a sponsor in 1924 from tailor Mr. Bloomer making the team “Bloomer's Tailors”. Eventually the team played for the Pullman Shock Company. By this time, Webb was considered one of the best defensive shortstops in the Tandy League. Tweed had a life-time batting average of .350 and while he was with the “Bloomer's Tailors” he hit .402.
In 1947 Branch Rickey of the Brooklyn Dodgers desperately wanted Robinson to play for him and his team. He would become the first black MLB player since 1889 when baseball became discriminated. In his first year he was the Rookie of the Year. He debuted in the International League with the Montreal Royals. This the led to Branch’s interest in Robinson since he was considered one of the best players in the International League and considering it was his first time playing with white men.
Every team requires one, and some say it is the hardest position on the field to play. The hind-catcher is without a doubt a necessity to every ball team’s success. This is the position who can take command of the playing field. If played well, one can have a major impact on how smoothly a team plays together and affect the outcome of the game. There are many requirements for the person who plays the role of the catcher: something as simple as being prepared to play the positon, to having the responsibility of making sure the team has a good relationship with each other. However, the most obvious requirement is the athletic ability required and being physically able to play the position. The position of catcher is not an easy position to play, but is essential to the game of baseball.
In 1910, Comiskey built a new ballpark on Chicago's South Side and dedicated himself to building a strong ball club. In 1915, he purchased three star players: outfielder Joe Jackson, second baseman Eddie Collins, and center fielder Happy Felsch. In 1917, the Sox won the World Series and, managed by William "Kid" Gleason, the 1919 Chicago White Sox had the best record in the American League.
As a 20 year old youth in 1883, Billy played baseball in the lots of his neighborhood in Marshalltown, Iowa. One day the captain for the Chicago White Sox, A.C. Anson, was in the lots watching all the teenagers, young adults, and Billy Sunday playing baseball. Anson was so impressed with what he had seen in Billy’s baseball performance that Billy was signed unto the White Sox soon after.
Jackie Robinson was a black man that played a white man only sport. Jackie Robinson’s life was outstanding regardless of the obstacles that were thrown in his way in order for him to make it to the top. Jackie Robinson overcame the pain people put him through with the support of his family, friends, and his God given talent, which was playing baseball. Jackie Robinson overcame the negativity of white people during the Civil Rights Movement. For this reason, Jackie Robinson never gave up on his dream and proved people wrong. Jackie Robinson became a vocal champion for the African-American athletes around the world (“Robinson, Jackie - Black History”).
Jackie Robinson once said that “"A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives." (Brainy Quotes). Jackie Robinson faced more abuse than any other baseball player. Jackie Robinson had his mind set on breaking the color barrier for African Americans. Jackie Robinson had the muscle strength and talent to inspire and change the color barrier in Major League baseball. Jackie Robinson was one of the most significant baseball players that America has ever known for Jackie Robinson’s bravery to stop the color barrier for, his inspiration he gave to people all around the world and for his accomplishments during baseball and outside of baseball this made him one of the most valuable players in the National League.
Marsden, Malcolm M. If You Really Want To Know: A Catcher Casebook. Chicago: Scott, Foresman and Company, 1963.
There are two outs in the bottom of the ninth, and the bases are juiced. The pitcher towers over everyone, the center of everyone’s attention as he gets ready to pitch off of his throne of dirt. Just one more out and his team will go to the World Series and who is behind the catcher playing one of the most valuable roles in the entire baseball game, the Umpire. Baseball has been around since for close to 2 centuries with games being played all around the globe, and where ever or whenever there is a baseball game there is a guy in a blue shirt squatted being home plate calling the game.
During the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, Major League Baseball, much like the majority of other American institutions, was racially segregated. A color barrier was implemented during baseball’s infancy in order to separate people of different race to cater to the white American players. The color barrier was an unofficial “rule” that hindered those with dark skin from playing baseball for Major League teams. The color barrier was enforced by preventing any teams with a colored player from competing at the professional level. Many team owners, umpires, and players justified their opposition to allowing blacks to play by declaring that only whites could uphold the "gentlemanly character" of professional baseball. Others argued that excluding blacks would prevent future racial resentment between the ethnicities, as players of different races would be competing for the same job opportunities.
John W. Fowler was the first black professional baseball player. He was born a free man in 1854. Fowler played for a team in New Castle Pennsylvania. He was the first of more than thirty black players in the white leagues before 1900. He was recognized by the white media as one of the best second basemen of his day, but he never got the chance to play in the Major Leagues. The first black major league player was named Moses Fleetwood Walker. Walker was in Ohio in 1857. He played two years of baseball for Oberlin College, and two years playing with Michigan at Ann Arbor. In 1983, he joined the Toledo club of the North Western league. Toledo entered the American Association a year later and Walker become the first black Major Leaguer. Walker was actually well received in most of his games. He was even applauded in some places. However, in two southern cities, Richmond and Louisville he was harasse...
Many people don't understand the point in playing baseball. Why would someone swing a stick, hit a ball, and try to get back to where they started before the ball returns? What pleasure is there in that? Why not participate in a sport like wrestling or track where there is an obvious level of individual improvement and therefore pleasure. Well, I play baseball because of the love I have for the sport, and because of the feeling that overwhelms me every time I walk onto a baseball field. When I walk onto a field I am given the desire to better myself not only as an athlete, but also as a person. The thoughts and feelings I get drive me to work hard towards my goals and to be a better person. The most relevant example of these feelings is when I stepped on the field at Runyon Complex in Pueblo, Colorado during our high school state playoffs in 2003. This baseball field will always be an important place to me.