Prologue: Pieces of History

Today’s post is written by Kimberlee Ried, public programs specialist at the National Archives in Kansas City.

“Take me out to the ball game, take me out with the crowd . . .” 

These words, written by Jack Norworth and Albert Von Tilzer in 1908, are still heard every night at  baseball parks across America, usually during the seventh-inning stretch. Even in the midst of summer heat, fans watch their favorite baseball players throw another strike, hit a homerun, or catch a foul—always in the hopes of winning the game.

On Tuesday, July 10, the city of Kansas City, Missouri, will host the All-Star Game. This exhibition game is played by the best players in the league midway through the baseball season. But there’s another piece of baseball history at Kansas City: a patent court case found in the holdings of the National Archives at Kansas City.

Victor Sporting Goods Co. v. Rawlings Manufacturing Co. was filed in 1909 in the U.S. Circuit Court in St. Louis, Missouri. Victor was suing Rawlings over the patent rights for a catcher’s mitt—specifically how catchers achieved “pocket” in their mitts.

Victor Sporting Goods was founded by Charles Whitney and Elroy L. Rogers in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1898. Elroy and his brother Burt were the two inventors at Victor Sporting Goods, and they specialized in creating catcher’s mitts.… [ Read all ]