”A reporter once said the original designers, father and son, probably did more to do away with the. The Doak model glove, which Rawlings sold until 1949, drastically changed the game. Previously, players dating back to the 1870s had worn gloves as protection (one early wearer used a flesh-colored glove in hopes of going unnoticed so opponents wouldn’t think him less of a man). Louis pitcher Bill Doak, then famous for his spitball, suggested his hometown sporting goods company connect the thumb and forefinger of a glove with webbing to create a small pocket. Rawlings became synonymous with baseball gloves in the 1920s after St. Nearly half – 43 percent – of major leaguers use Rawlings gloves. He even designed a glove-a big glove-for the Phillie Phanatic. Since then, he’s designed gloves for any number of major-league players including Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Torii Hunter, Mark McGwire and Hall of Famers Ozzie Smith, Robin Yount, Mike Schmidt and Cal Ripken Jr. He is only the third glove designer in the history of the company, following the father-son team of Harry Latina, who worked from 1922 to 1961, and Rollie Latina, who retired in 1983.Ĭlevenhagen apprenticed with Rollie for a year before settling in to his position 28 years ago. Since 1983, he has designed gloves (and occasionally footballs and helmets and catcher's gear) for the sporting goods firm best known as the Gold Glove Company. ![]() We didn't pull it off the shelf and ship it.”Ĭlevenhagen is known to many as the Michelangelo of the mitt. “It also guarantees the fact I made the glove for you. “Even today, we make his glove with no writing on it,” Clevenhagen says, noting the request is only partly a ballplayer's superstition. Still robbing hitters at age 44 for the Chicago White Sox, the venerable infielder has remained true to his Pro SXSC model. ![]() Over a career spanning 23 seasons, he has won 11 Gold Gloves for fielding excellence. ![]() Vizquel opted for unadorned and it’s proved to be a wise choice. Without them, Clevenhagen said, he could have a new glove shipped by the next day. Clevenhagen, the glove designer for Rawlings Sporting Goods, said he had one ready, but it would take a few days to imprint the ”Heart of the Hide” logos and other markings. At spring training about two decades ago, a young shortstop named Omar Vizquel mentioned to Bob Clevenhagen that he needed a new glove as soon as possible.
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