US2288467A

US2288467A - Baseball mitt or glove

Info

Publication number: US2288467A
Application number: US388451A
Authority: US
Inventors: Harry B Latina
Original assignee: RAWLINGS Manufacturing CO
Current assignee: RAWLINGS Manufacturing CO
Priority date: 1941-04-14
Filing date: 1941-04-14
Publication date: 1942-06-30
Anticipated expiration: 1959-06-30

Description

June 30, 1942. H. B. LATINA BASEBALL MITT OR GLOVE Filed April 14, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 June 30, 1942. H. B; LATINA 2,288,467

BASEBALL MI'I'T on GLOVE Filed April 14, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented June 30, 1942 BASEBALL MITT OR GLOVE Harry B. Latina, East St. Louis, 111., assignor to Rawlings Manufacturing Company, St. Louis, Mo., a corporation of Missouri Application April 14, 1941, Serial No. 388,451

Claims.

This invention relates to baseball mitts and gloves.

One object of the invention is to provide a mitt or glove, which, in addition to having an adjustable, built-in, ball-receiving pocket of the kind described in the pending application for patent of Elmer Nolte and Harry B. Latina, Serial No. 331,924, filed April 2'7, 1940, is constructed in a novel manner that greatly enhances or improves the gripping or clamping action of the mitt on a caught ball.

Another object is to provide a baseball mitt or glove in which the curved or segmental-shaped curb member at the heel of the mitt, is constructed in a novel manner that imparts great flexibility to the mitt and insures the palm portion of same naturally assuming a cupped shape or form in the operation of catching a ball, even when the mitt is new.

Another object is to provide a baseball mitt or glove which has incorporated in same, a palm pad made of cushion rubber, such as foam rubher, or sponge rubber, thereby making unnecessary the common practice among baseball players, of using an ordinary sponge positioned in the palm of the hand before inserting the hand into a conventional mitt, so as to provide extra padding for the mitt.

And still another object of my invention is to provide a baseball mitt or glove in which the padding material is permanently anchored or connected, preferably by an adhesive, to a backing or back piece formed from a piece of leather or other suitable flexible sheet material.

Figure 1 of the drawings is a perspective view of a baseball mitt constructed in accordance with my present invention.

Figure 2 is a sectional view, illustrating the lacing that is used to adjust the curb member or variable heel portion, so as to change the depth, shape and/or size of the ball-receiving pocket, or to alter the location or position of said pocket.

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the padding unit.

Figure 4 is an end view or edge view of said padding unit.

Figure 5 is a bottom plan view of the padding unit.

Figure 6 is a sectional view, taken on the line 6--6 of Figure 3.

Figure '7 is a perspective view of the sponge rubber or foam rubber palm pad that is incorporated in the padding unit.

Figure 8 illustrates the mitt positioned on the users hand.

Figure 9 is a plan view of the padding unit with the leather backing or back piece of said unit broken away so as to show the padding material that is permanently attached to said back piece; and

Figure 10 is a fragmentary view, illustrating a slight modification of my invention. 7

While I have illustrated my invention, embodied in a catchers mitt, I wish it to be understood that the invention is applicable to fingered baseball gloves, such as fielders gloves and first basemens gloves. In Figure l of the drawings A designates the palm portion of the mitt, and B designates as an entirety, an adjustable curb member or variable heel portion of the kind referred to in said Nolte and Latina application, that constitutes a relatively deep retaining wall for a built-in, ball-receiving pocket, and l designates a leather shell that forms the wear-resisting surface of the portions A and B of the mitt. In baseball mitts of conventional construction, the padding of the mitt comprises a substantially flat base piece of the approximate shape or outline of the mitt, usually formed from relatively thick or heavy felt, and having a curved or segmental-shaped pad attached to the marginal edge of same, said curved or segmental-shaped pad being continuous and extending unbrokenly across the inner end or heel end of the palm portion of the mitt. Due to the fact that said curved pad is relatively thick and wide and extends transversely across the heel end of the palm portion, it retards the natural tendency of said palm to fold, double or close around a ball that is caught in the mitt.

My improved mitt is distinguished from the conventional baseball mitt, principally in that the curved or segmental-shaped pad above referred to, is divided or separated, usually at a point in approximately longitudinal alignment with the crotch C of the mitt, thereby producing a mitt whose palm portion has a natural tendency to fold, double or close around a caught ball. It is also distinguished from the conventional mitt, in that one or both sections of said divided, curved or segmental-shaped pad are combined with adjustable lacings or similar devices, so as to produce a variable curb member or members that can be manipulated or adjusted to vary the depth, shape, dimensions and/or location of a built-in ball-receiving pocket. It is further distinguished from the conventional baseball mitt, in that the padding material is permanently combined with a leather back piece, so as to produce a complete padding unit that has a palm pad of cushion rubber, incorporated in same.

As shown in Figures 3 and 4 and 5, the padding unit of my improved mitt comprises a base piece D, cut to the approximate shape or outline desired for the finished mitt, and two segmentalshaped or curved pads D and D attached to the peripheral edge portion of said base piece D and separated from each other by a gap or space 0:, as shown in Figures 3 and 4. Usually, the base piece D and the curved pads D and D superimposed thereon, will be formed from pieces of relatively thick or heavy felt, the curved pads being attached to the base piece by stitches 2 looped over the curved pads and inserted in the base piece. The location of the gap as may vary somewhat, but usually said gap will be disposed at the heel end of the mitt in approximately longitudinal alignment with the crotch C of the mitt. between the pads D and D at the heel end of the palm portion, produces a flexible mitt that has a natural tendency to fold or hinge along a line extending approximately from the crotch of the mitt to a point near the users wrist, as 1,

shown in Figure 8, when the mitt is functioning to catch and retain a ball. In order that the mitt will have the desirable features and characteristics of the fingered baseball glove disclosed in the N olte andLatina application, previously referred to, one or more adjustable lacings are provided for adjusting one or both of the curved pads D and D In the form of my invention shown in Figure l the adjustable curb portion B of the mitt isformed by the curved pad D, a casing for said pad formed by the piece of leather or other suitable material that constitutes the front side of the mitt, and a lacing 3' engaged with the opposed side parts of said casing, said lacing being adapted to be manipulated by tightening or loosening the same, so as to change the cross-sectional shape and/or dimensions of said pad, or to change the curvature or longitudinal shape of said pad to shift or alter the location of the ball-receiving pocket of the mitt. The lacing 3 passes through eyelets or holes in the leather shell I of the glove, disposed so that the lacing 3 can be positioned between the base piece D and the segmental pad D of the padding unit andlaced back and forth, as shown in Figure 2, through the eyelets or holes in the opposed side parts of the portion of the shell that serves as a casing for the curb D, thereby producing a relatively sharp'angle or corner in the shell I of the glove at the junction of the palm portion A and the curb portion B. Usually, it will be sufficient to provide a lacing for only the segmental pad of curb member D, as the combination of such a pad and lacing produces a mitt having a well defined, built-in, ball receiving pocket that is easy to adjust or vary, so as to adapt the mitt to the particular user. If desired, however, the other curved pad or curved member D located on the other side of the gap an in the padding element, may be provided with a lacing 3 as shown in Figure 10, that can be manipulated or adjusted so as to change the cross-sectional shape and/or dimensions of the auxiliary curb member and also produce a corner or angle in the shell I of the glove at the junction of the base piece D and the pad D of the padding element, thereby producing a ball receiving pocket having a relatively high or This particular arrangement of the gap 4 deep curb portion that extends-around the major 7 portion of the pocket.

One feature of my improved baseball mitt or glove that adds greatly to its commercial utility and overcomes the common practice among ball players of placing an ordinary sponge in the palm of the hand before positioning the mitt or glove on the hand, is that it is provided with a palm pad E (see Figure 7) made of cushion rubber, such as sponge rubber or foam rubber. This palm pad E is built into the glove so that it forms an integral part thereof, and as it performs practically the same function as an ordinary sponge positioned in the palm of the users hand, it greatly simplifies the operation of using themitt or glove. Preferably, the rubber palm pad E' is set in a depression or recess in the rear side or underside of the base piece D of the padding unit, as shown in Figures 3, 5 and 6, and is secured in position preferably by an adhesive. Said rubber palm pad E may be of any preferred shape and size, but I prefer to proportion it so that it extends over substantially the entire area of that part of the padding of the mitt which serves as a back stop for a caught ball. It may correspond in shape to the general outline or shape of the curb or raised portion of the padding element formed by the two segmentalshaped pads D and D Another detail of construction that I prefer to embody in my improved mitt or glove is a back piece or backing made of a piece of leather or other relatively flexible material t permanently attached to the base piece D of the padding unit and projecting laterally beyond the peripheral edge of said base piece, as shown in Figure 9. Eyelets or openings 5 in the laterally-projecting peripheral portion of the backing l are adapted to receive a lacing 5 (shown in Figure 1) that passes through holes or eyelets in the leather shell I that constitutes the front side of the mitt.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A baseball mitt or glove provided with a ballreceiving pocket that comprises a padded, curblike portion built into'the' mitt at the heel end of the pocket and located on the underside of thepiece of material that constitutes the front side of the mitt, said curb-like portion having a gap, space or joint intermediate its ends so as to im part greater flexibility to the mitt, and means for enabling the user to change the cross-sectional shape of at least one section of said curb-like portion so as to vary the shape, dimensions or location of the ball-receiving pocket.

2'. A baseball mitt or glove provided with a shell of leather or other suitable material that forms the front side of the mitt, a padding comprising a base piece to which a substantially deep or thick, curved pad is attached so as to form a curbelike'pcrtion at the heel end of the palm portion of' the glove, said curved pad having a gap or joint formed in same intermediate its ends, and an adjustable lacing for drawing the shell into the corner formed by the junction of said base pad and at least one section of said curved pad.

3. A baseball mitt or glove whose palm portion comprises padding formed by a relatively thick piece of felt, and a piece of cushion or sponge rubber set in a depression or recess on: the back or underside of said piece of felt and secured-to same, so as to constitute asponge-like palm pad,

4. A baseball mitt or glove provided with a padding unit composed of a back piece of leather or other suitable flexible material, a base piece of padding material of substantial thickness secured to said back piece, a substantially segmental-shaped or curved pad attached to said base piece at the peripheral edge of same, and a palm pad of sponge rubber or foam rubber, interposed between said leather backing and base piece and secured in a recess on the underside of said base piece.

5. A baseball mitt or glove, comprising a shell of leather or the like that constitutes the front side of the mitt, a padding unit comprising a base piece of felt or the like conforming to the general shape or outline of the mitt, a segmental-shaped or curved pad attached to the peripheral edge portion of said base piece, said curved pad being provided intermediate its ends with a gap or joint disposed in substantially longitudinal alignment with the crotch of the mitt, an adjustable lacing combined with at least one section of said curved pad for drawing the shell towards the corner formed by the junction of said base piece and curved pad section, a palm pad made of cushion rubber incorporated in said base piece,

and a back piece of leather or the like secured by an adhesive to the underside of said base piece and provided at its peripheral edge with eyelets or openings for receiving a lacing that is engaged with the peripheral portion of the shell of the mitt.

HARRY B. LATINA.