Joe Gunson
Joseph Brook Gunson (March 23, 1863 – November 15, 1942) was a Major League Baseball catcher between and . Biography Born in Philadelphia, Gunson played for the Cleveland Spiders, Washington Nationals, Kansas City Cowboys, Baltimore Orioles, and St. Louis Browns from 1884 to 1893. He is sometimes credited with creating the first catcher's mitt when he was trying to play through an 1888 finger injury. Though Gunson was young and did not need the money, Jim Manning was going to help him patent it once Manning returned from a summer baseball tour. Gunson said that he told some other players about the glove and that many other players began using such a mitt before Manning came home. Gunson died at his Philadelphia home in 1942. References External links 1863 births 1942 deaths Major League Baseball catchers Cleveland Spiders players Kansas City Cowboys players Washington Nationals (UA) players Baltimore Orioles (NL) players St. Louis Browns (AA) players 19th-century baseball players Meriden Maroons players Rochester Maroons players Atlanta Atlantas players Hartford Dark Blues (minor league) players Topeka Golden Giants players Kansas City Blues (baseball) players Erie Blackbirds players Springfield Maroons players Springfield Ponies players Scranton Miners players Scranton Red Sox players Rochester Patriots players Ottawa Wanderers players Newark Colts players Philadelphia Athletics (minor league) players Harrisburg Ponies players Baseball players from Pennsylvania