1920-1929 Baseball Glove Dating Guide


	1920 - 1929 Baseball Gloves

One inch webs still remain at the start of this era. Manufacturers are developing the "Lacing Device" and using lace between the thumb & forefinger which leads to the vertical tunnel loop, and leather strips laced between the thumb and forefinger. Substantial webbing is being developed towards the end of the 1920's which will lead to the modern day web. The "Bill Doak Era" of baseball Gloves begins.

1926 Wilson Baseball Mitt, Model No. 638, Virgil Barnes Endorsement. Single tunnel web connects the forefinger and thumb with lace passed through sewn in loops.

Vertical tunnel loop web circa 1920s elongated loops were sewn in directly to the thumb and forefinger through which passed a simple rawhide lace.

Rawlings Bill Doak baseball glove..Model #5BD

Earlier Bill doak Model circa 1922 web missing

The largest improvement ever in glove design happened in 1920, when Bill Doak, a journeyman pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, approached Rawlings with an idea for a web laced between the first finger and thumb. Before Doak's invention, gloves were primarily protective equipment that kept fielders' hands and fingers from being hurt by hard hit balls. Doak developed the idea of putting a substantial webbing between the glove's thumb and first finger to form a substantial pre-formed pocket in which to catch the ball. The Rawlings "Bill Doak" model that was first introduced in 1920 was so revolutionary that it remained available until 1953 with only minor modifications. Doak's invention was the ancestor of all modern gloves.

1920s Loops sewn into forefinger, and thumb are connected by lace. the 1920s brought many experiment with web design.

Late 1920s Hutch - William Wright Regan endorsed buckle back glove model # 736-V Dual Vertical Tunnel

1920 - 1929 Baseball Glove & Mitt Catalog Samples

Sample photos below are taken from wholesale catalogs issued between 1920 and 1929.


1921 Reach OBL Fielder's Glove	1921 Reach 18C Fielder's Glove	1922 Reach 5R Baseman's Mitt	1922 Reach 75X Catcher's Mitt

1922 Al Reach Fielder's Glove	1922 Reach CB Fielder's Glove	1926 Reach 5R First Base Mitt	1926 Reach 31 Catcher's Mitt

1927 Rawlings Doak Fielders Glove	1930 Wilson 648M Fielders Gloves	1930 Wilson 638 Fielders Gloves	Bill Doak Patent April 18, 1921