Uniforms and Equipment
Uniforms
- The Knickerbocker Club is widely recognized as the first club to wear uniforms in 1849. The uniform has evolved from long pants, long sleeve shirts and straw hats to knickers and shorts sleeves. To see this evolution visit Threads of Our Game.
Equipment
Bats, balls and gloves all evolved in the 1800s.
- Gloves were not used in the early years of the game. Not until the 1860s was a glove used, rarely, and only then by an injured catcher. As pitching moved to overhand and games became more frequent, so did the catcher's equipment and glove, although it amounted to nothing more than a fingerless glove. In the late 1880s players used gloves more frequently. The catcher's glove in the 1890s became more of a pancake type glove with padding.
- The bats of the 1800s changed as well, starting out longer and heavier, with very little taper in the handle.
- The balls of the 1800s changed in size and weight as well as stitching. The ball started out as one piece of leather stitched in a star pattern or what is often called a lemon peel. It was initially heavier and slightly larger than a modern day ball, gradually becoming smaller and lighter and being made of two pieces of leather and stitched as we know it today.
