Alex Taylor Baseman's mitt

CIRCA - 1918
MANUFACTURER - Drapper-Maynard Company
RETAILER - Alex Taylor & Co.
PRICE GUIDE - $300.00-$400.00
Very Good - Excellent condition
Because of the absence of a sales history, value is estimated based on similar Mitts.

Information Provided by:
Keymancollectibles.com

NOTES:

Alex Taylor & Co. which at one time was one of the major Sporting Good stores located in New York, N.Y., was established in 1897. Originally located on 16 E. 42nd The company relocated several times in Manhattan's Time Square area, until it's closing and final location on 38th street. It is not known when the company went out of business but like most of the independent outlets, they most likely succumbed to the onset of the large chains.

In 1897, Alex Taylor, founder of Alex Taylor & Co. started as a clerk at a sporting goods store called Johnson & Stoughtenburgh. In 1901, Taylor bought a half interest in the firm, making it Johnson & Taylor, then in 1908 he bought out Johnson and moved to 16 E. 42nd. The company carried a large line of equipment for a variety of sports that included; basketball, lacrosse, fencing, skiing, golf, tennis, Football & baseball. Alex Taylor & Co. would also become a major manufacture of hockey equipment & Jersey's used by the NHL. The sporting-goods store relocated to 22 East 42nd Street in 1921.

As part of the WWI "Bat and Ball fund" in 1918, Alex Taylor provided athletic equipment to the troops overseas. Alex Taylor & Co. placed an advertisement in the Stars and Stripes that showed a hurdling doughboy over the caption "Athletes Make the Best Fighters" That advertisement then announced that the company had been awarded a contract to fill the sports need of the troops. The equipment included 3,500 baseball gloves, and 750 base-mitts which featured the YMCA stamp.

This first baseman's mitt was manufactured for Alex Taylor by Draper-Maynard Company Sporting and Athletic Goods. It features the Y.M.C.A. Stamp on the thumb back, and has the "Decker Patent" leather finger protector at the top.

Earl Harry Decker, a catcher that played Major League baseball from 1887-1890, held a number of patents that are popular with collectors today. The most popular being the 1889 patented "Decker's Safety Mitt," AKA the "Decker Patent." Among the multiple features the mitt featured an extra layer of leather on the back, and edge band on top of the finger stalls for protection of the catchers fingers. Decker sold the patent to A.G. Spalding and this design was used for many decades to come.

Produced using the D&M Retriever model No. 655, the mitt was catalog endorsed by Wally Pip, of the New York Yankees. The player who lost his starting role as the Yankees' first baseman to Lou Gehrig, on June 2, 1925. Gehrig, went on to set a record, playing in 2,130 consecutive games.

1918 Alex Taylor Decker Patent Y.M.C.A. First Baseman's Mitt


WW! Y.M.C.A. Stamp	Front Of First Alex Taylor Baseman's Mitt

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