Clipping:Chest protectors; an improved mask; a hint about a protective cup
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| Date | Sunday, April 15, 1888 |
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| Text | Gaffney wears an ingenious breast and stomach protector. It is made of pasteboard in sections joined together with elastic and made to fit tight around. When Gaffney buttons up his cardigan jacket no one would know that he is provided with a protector. He says he was hit so often in the chest and over the heart that he had to take some means to save his life. The contrivance is Gaff’s own make. Cincinnati Commercial Gazette April 15, 1888, quoting Sporting South Gaffney, the umpire, and Bushong, the catcher, are probably the only men in the business who wear chest protectors under their shirts. They are small affairs but an effective and great improvement over the cumbersome big windbag that most catchers use, and weary the spectators by putting them on and off during the game. Cincinnati Commercial Gazette May 13, 1888 In conversation the other day Bob Reach of Reach & Co. Said: “Did you see Umpire Gaffney’s suit last season? He was attired as never before was umpire–or player, for that matter. His coat and mask were expressly made by us for him. The coat was of blue flannel and was fitted with inflatable rubber tubing, which he could fill with air prior to going on the field. With this garment on he was enabled to withstand the most violent blows of foul tips, the ball bounding off easily and making but little concussion. I should not at all wonder if we made trousers of the same pattern. You must have often remarked how frequently the umpire and catcher are struck and most painfully, by foul balls. With a pair of these trousers all danger of any kind may be avoided. Then there was the mask which Mr. Gaffney wore, and which was a model of its kind. It had an open sight, far superior to anything of the kind I have ever seen, yet made so strong that the ball could not penetrate the opening. It was the only mask of the kind ever made, and it was highly praised by every player who saw it, and especially Capt. Ewing of the New Yorks, who desired me to make him a duplicate, an order that I was unable to fill. This mask, instead of having a padded rim, had one inflated, the effect being to deaden the blow of the ball. The whole outfit is very light and can be packed into a very small compass. It will be a great thing for umpires next year, providing an armor that will be almost ballproof. It will almost entirely free that individual from the many dangers that have hitherto made his task so unpleasant, and hereafter the only target that he need fear will be that in human shape.” Cleveland Plain Dealer December 23, 1888 |
| Source | Cincinnati Commercial Gazette |
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| Submitted by | Richard Hershberger |
| Origin | Initial Hershberger Clippings |
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