Vintage Base Ball Association | Education / Patents

NEW Google has implented a patent search engine. It's much more useful than someone manually extracting the links. Here's the link:

http://www.google.com/patents

Links to base-ball-related patents, 1866-1906.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office posts images on the World Wide Web of nearly all patent papers, but pre-1976 patents are difficult to find due to limited search fields. Our goal by posting this list is to provide a jumping-off point for vintage base ballists and baseball historians. The USPTO patent search home page provides instructions to add a plug-in to view the patent images in your computer's browser: http://www.uspto.gov/patft/index.html Keep in mind, patents are inventions that may not have been marketed, produced or successful. Wacky as some patents may appear, the inventor saw a need and attempted to fill it. The patent illustrations and documentation can provide baseball historians another opportunity to study the growth and evolution of the game. If you know of another base-ball-related patent through 1909 that is missing from this list, contact: edinterpcomm../images/mailfillertext.gifvbba.org We will continue to add supporting documentation, such as advertising and photographs of surviving examples. Please contact us if you can provide additional information. The VBBA Education and Interpretation Committee wishes to thank the members of the SABR Nineteenth Century Committee for their assistance in expanding and enhancing this project.

Class	Patent Date	Patent #	Title	Inventors	Place of Residence
473/564	October 30, 1866	59,313	Spring-Bat	George W. Hill	Deep River, Connecticut
273/108.31	August 20, 1867	67,951	Base-Ball Table	William Buckley	New York, New York
273/108.31	January 23, 1868	74,154	Apparatus for Playing Parlor Base-Ball	Francis C. Sebring	Hoboken, New Jersey
473/499	March 3, 1868	75,076	Base for Ball-Players	Esau D. Taylor	Hornellsville, New York
473/602	July 7, 1868	79,719	Improvement in India-Rubber Base-Balls	Henry A. Alden	Matteawan, New York
235/90	September 1, 1868	81,598	Base-Ball Tally-Board	Thomas L. Canary	Brownsburg, Indiana
473/468	November 7, 1871	120,650	Improvement in Cat-Balls	Thomas H. Joyce	New York, New York
36/62	January 9, 1872	122,587	Improvement in Boot-Clamps for Base-Ball Players	Edward S. Ellis	Trenton, New Jersey
473/598	May 21, 1872	127,098	Improvement in Modes of Covering Rounded Articles with Leather	James H. Osgood	Boston, Massachusetts
473/602	July 27, 1875	165,994	Improvement in Base-Balls	John Giblin	Boston, Massachusetts
473/598	September 16, 1875	175,172	Improvement in Base-Ball Covers	Martin J. Ryan	Brooklyn, New York
473/500	December 14, 1875	171,038	Improvement in Base-Ball Bases	John C. O�Neill	St. Louis, Missouri
473/594	January 18, 1876	172,315	Improvement in Base-Balls	Samuel Hipkiss	Boston, Massachusetts
473/600	March 7, 1876	174,511	Improvement in the Manufacture of Base-Balls	Wolf Flechter	Covington, Kentucky
473/602	July 25, 1876	180,110	Improvement in Base-Balls	William B. Carr	Brooklyn, New York
473/598	February 27, 1877	187,848	Improvement in Base-Balls	David Hale	Boston, Massachusetts
2/9	February 12, 1878	200,398	Improvement in Masks	Frederick W. Thayer	Waverly, Massachusetts
273/244.1	May 7, 1878	203,368	Improvement in Game-Boards	Edward B. Peirce	Lowell, Massachusetts
2/9	June 18, 1878	205,092	Improvement in Masks	George W. Howland	Boston, Massachusetts
473/598	April 19, 1881	240,327	Ball-Cover	John O�Donnell	Rutherford Park, New Jersey
473/600	August 8, 1882	262,257	Manufacture of Base-Balls	Thomas P. Taylor	Bridgeport, Connecticut
273/108.32	January 23, 1883	270,963	Game Apparatus to Imitate Base-Ball	Horace B. McCool	Pottsville, Pennsylvania
473/602	February 27, 1883	272,984	Base-Ball	Benjamin F. Shibe	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
473/600	July 17, 1883	281,238	Base-Ball	Samuel D. Castle	Bridgeport, Connecticut
2/9	October 23, 1883	287,137	Wire Mask	Harry C. Lee	Brooklyn, New York
2/9	October 23, 1883	287,331	Mask for Base-Ball Catchers	Alexander K. Schaap	Richmond, Virginia
473/600	November 20, 1883	288,766	Base-Ball	Almanzor W. Boynton	Bridgeport, Connecticut
473/598	November 27, 1883	289,297	Game-Ball	William B. Melot	Fleetwood, Pennsylvania
2/19	December 25, 1883	290,664	Glove	Austin C. Butts	Groveston, New Jersey
473/564	January 22, 1884	292,190	Base-Ball Bat	William Williams	Huntingdon, Pennsylvania
273/298	February 16, 1884	305,315	Playing-Cards	Thomas W. Lawson	Cambridge, Massachusetts
273/244.1	October 28, 1884	307,402	Game Apparatus	Michael J. Lynch	Pawtucket, Rhode Island
273/72	January 6, 1885	310,248	Base Ball Bat	William T. Brown	Hastings, Michigan
473/500	January 27, 1885	311,278	Indicator for Base-Ball or Cricket Fields	William Williams	Huntingdon, Pennsylvania
273/108.31	August 25, 1885	324,873	Game	John B. Morse	Providence, Rhode Island
2/19	September 8, 1885	325,968	Glove	George H. Rawlings	St. Louis, Missouri
273/244.1	November 17, 1885	330,788	Parlor Base-Ball Game	Francis Benjamin Jacobus and William Vincent McKinley	Albany, New York
273/244.1	July 13, 1886	345,430	Game-Board	Charles O. Hayward and David J. Havenstrite	Newark, New Jersey
273/141R	August 17, 1886	347,704	Parlor Game of Base-Ball	John H. Gaffney	Worcester, Massachusetts
273/244.1	February 1, 1887	356,870	Game-Board	William I. Finley and Horace B. Kirkwood	Washington, D. C.
473/499	February 15, 1887	357,675	Home-Base for Game of Base-Ball	Robert M. Keating	Springfield, Massachusetts
2/19	March 29, 1887	360,135	Glove	John Blomstrom	Rockford, Illinois
2/9	June 7, 1887	364,543	Base-Ball Mask	Robert Reach	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
273/244.1	August 9, 1887	367,991	Game	Edward K. McGill	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
473/499	August 9, 1887	367,889	Base-Bag	James L. Brown	Evansville, Indiana
473/503	August 9, 1887	368,112	Hand-Protector for Ball-Players	Edmond Redmond	Rochester, New York
2/19	August 23, 1887	368,724	Ball-Player�s Glove	Edwin Loucks	New York, New York
273/108.31	September 27, 1887	370,628	Game-Board	William Frazier Kelly	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2/9	January 10, 1888	376,278	Base-Ball Mask	George Barnard	Chicago, Illinois
446/11	January 17, 1888	376,628	Toy Money-Box	James H. Bowen	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
473/564	February 7, 1888	377,686	Base-Ball Bat	John W. Moose	Mount Pleasant, North Carolina
273/298	February 28, 1888	378,497	Playing-Cards	Franklin Couch	White Plains, New York
2/9	March 29, 1888	379,655	Base-Ball Mask	Dennis J. O�Sullivan	Detroit, Michigan
2/19	April 24, 1888	381,687	Base-Ball Glove	Frederick G. Fischer	Kansas City, Missouri
36/66	May 22, 1888	383,133	Detachable Sole-Plate and Spike for Boots and Shoes	Samuel Kingston and William H. McGunnigle	Bridgewater and Brockton, Massachusetts
2/19	July 10, 1888	385,728	Ball-Catcher�s Glove	Joseph W. Sauer	Milwaukee, Wisconsin
36/64	December 18, 1888	394,863	Calk-Plate for Shoes	Charles Kellermann and Henry M. Solveson	Chicago, Illinois
473/564	March 26, 1889	400,354	Base-Ball Bat	Charles N. Morris	Cincinnati, Ohio
273/108.31	April 9, 1889	401,222	Game Apparatus	Henry L. Smith	Brooklyn, New York
2/19	August 6, 1889	408,650	Glove	Paul Buckley and Earle Harry Decker	Chicago, Illinois
36/66	October 8, 1889	412,472	Base-Ball Shoe	William Croner	Brooklyn, New York
473/598	November 26, 1889	415,884	Base-Ball	Daniel M. Shibe	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2/19	April 15, 1890	425,887	Base-Ball Glove	George C. Kohler	San Francisco, California
473/564	June 17, 1890	430,388	Ball-Bat	Emile Kinst	Chicago, Illinois
273/244.1	July 8, 1890	431,727	Game	Frank W. Samuels	Indianapolis, Indiana
273/108.31	July 15, 1890	432,287	Game	Henry Shrimpton	Cincinnati, Ohio
2/9	July 29, 1890	432,970	Base-Ball Mask	Barton L. Blair	Rochester, New York
2/19	August 12, 1890	434,120	Ball-Catcher�s Mitten	Joseph W. Sauer	Milwaukee, Wisconsin
2/19	September 16, 1890	436,540	Ball-Catcher�s Glove	Henry L. Naramore	Sharon, Massachusetts
273/108.32	October 28, 1890	439,211	Game	John S. Thompson	Indianapolis, Indiana
273/108.31	November 4, 1890	439,899	Base-Ball Game	William Schmitges	New York, New York
473/598	December 9, 1890	442,147	Base-Ball Cover	Benjamin F. Shibe	Bala, Pennsylvania
2/19	February 21, 1891	447,233	Catcher�s Glove	Earle Harry Decker	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
273/108.31	February 24, 1891	447,088	Game-Board	John W. Sutton	New York, New York
273/108.31	March 10, 1891	447,851	Game-Board	Henry Wachter	Columbus, Ohio
2/19	April 14, 1891	450,366	Catcher�s Glove	Earle Harry Decker	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2/19	April 21, 1891	450,717	Glove	Robert Reach	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2/9	June 30, 1891	455,007	Base-Ball Mask	Leo J. F. Rooney	Brooklyn, New York
473/600	July 28, 1891	456,920	Ball	Francis F. Atkinson	New York, New York
2/19	September 15, 1891	459,441	Ball-Catcher�s Glove	Jason F. Draper	Ashland, New Hampshire
2/19	October 13, 1891	461,218	Base-Ball Glove	August Haegg	Rockford, Illinois
2/19	October 27, 1891	461,819	Base-Ball-Catcher�s Glove or Mitten	Jason F. Draper	Ashland, New Hampshire
2/19	October 27, 1891	461,847	Catcher�s Glove	Henry W. Price	Rockford, Illinois
473/600	December 22, 1891	465,507	Indoor Base-Ball	William Windows	Chicago, Illinois
473/564	March 29, 1892	471,545	Cushion-Tip for Ball-Bats	George W. Hancock	Chicago, Illinois
2/19	April 5, 1892	472,482	Glove for Base-Ball Catchers	Theodore A. Kennedy	Des Moines, Iowa
273/108.31	December 13, 1892	487,825	Mechanical Ball Game	Greely Stevensen Curtis, Jr. and James Mott Hallowell	Boston, Massachusetts and West Medford, Massachusetts
273/108.31	February 7, 1893	491,247	Toy Base-Ball Game	Joseph A. Meaher	Cleveland, Ohio
473/564	February 6, 1894	514,420	Base-Ball Bat	Charles Jacobus	New York, New York
36/59R	October 16, 1894	527,403	Sheet-Metal Shoe Plate or Spike	Willard H. Buxton	Worcester, Massachusetts
2/19	October 30, 1894	528,343	Catcher�s Glove	Elroy L. Rogers	Wakefield, Massachusetts
2/19	March 5, 1895	535,178	Catcher�s Mitten	Adolf Slomka	New York, New York
2/19	April 30, 1895	538,572	Hand-Protection for Ball-Catchers	Edward L. Wilson	Lanham�s, Maryland
2/19	June 4, 1895	540,514	Catcher�s Glove	Elroy L. Rogers	Chicopee, Massachusetts
2/19	June 11, 1895	540,631	Catcher�s Mitt	Albert F. Burtt	Ashland, New Hampshire
273/108.31	August 6, 1895	544,208	Game Apparatus	Edward Chace
2/19	December 10, 1895	550,949	Ball-Player�s Glove	Anna Burns Decker	Keokuk, Iowa
2/9	January 7, 1896	552,557	Head-Protector	Jacob L. Weber	Chicago, Illinois
273/108.32	February 18, 1896	554,733	Toy Base-Ball Game	Joseph Morris Roberts	Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
2/9	November 17, 1896	571,437	Base-Ball Mask	William Gray	Hartford, Connecticut
273/108.31	January 12, 1897	575,247	Game Apparatus	Jerome Godfrey Kiah	Sand Beach, Michigan
2/19	March 16, 1897	578,842	Catcher�s Mitten	Aldolf Slomka	New York, New York
273/108.31	October 12, 1897	591,794	Game Apparatus	Peter Andriot	Bellevue, Kentucky
273/108.32	September 27, 1898	611,278	Game Apparatus	Aden� W. Rich and Frederick R. Freudenweiler	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
273/244.1	November 8, 1898	613,658	Game Apparatus	William J. Bourke	Chicago, Illinois
2/19	November 8, 1898	613,945	Base-Ball Glove	Benjamin F. Shibe	Bala, Pennsylvania
273/244.1	January 3, 1899	617,297	Ball-Game Apparatus	Edward Neely and William M. Bradt	Chicago, Illinois
2/19	April 11, 1899	622,733	Catcher�s Mitten	William Shoot Tompkins	New York, New York
2/9	July 11, 1899	628,724	Base-Ball Mask	Burt T. Rogers	Springfield, Massachusetts
273/108.31	November 21, 1899	637,549	Game Apparatus	Franklin J. Engel and Christ F. Hirth	Mayville, Wisconsin
473/602	February 6, 1900	642,639	Playing-Ball	Alphonso B. Smith	Los Angeles, California
273/244.1	February 20, 1900	643,808	Game-Board	Frank Augustus Brewer, Jr. and Fred Hayes	Watsonville, California
36/66	February 19, 1901	668,274	Detachable Spike for Shoes	Edwin Woodward	Garrett, Indiana
2/19	July 9, 1901	677,958	Base-Ball Mitt	Charles H. Dean	Brockton, Massachusetts
36/67R	December 2, 1902	715,138	Spiked Sole for Boots or Shoes	George L. Pierce	Brookly, New York
473/564	December 23, 1902	716,541	Bat	John A. Hillerich	Louisville, Kentucky
273/298	April 21, 1903	726,232	Card Game	Robert W. Test and Herman Stabler	Washington, District of Columbia
473/564	May 5, 1903	727,359	Base-Ball Bat	Charles F. Held	St. Louis, Missouri
473/500	May 12, 1903	727,633	Electric Base-Ball Register	John Marshall Humphreys	Trenton, Canada
473/598	July 7, 1903	732,962	Seam for Base-Balls	Burt T. Rogers	Springfield, Massachusetts
473/503	March 22, 1904	755,209	Base-Ball Catcher	James E. Bennett	Momence, Illinois
473/564	October 4, 1904	771,247	Base-Ball Bat	John A. Hillerich	Louisville, Kentucky
2/19	May 9, 1905	789,480	Base-Ball Glove	James Edward Bennett	Momence, Illinois
473/564	August 1, 1905	795,815	Base-Ball Bat	Absalom Burrows	Philadelpia, Pennsylvania
473/564	November 21, 1905	805,132	Base-Ball Bat	William F. Gubbins	Chicago, Illinois

Patents through 1909 will be added in the second edition.