Joe Gunson

Joseph Brook Gunson (March 23, 1863 – November 15, 1942) was a Major League Baseball catcher between 1884 and 1893.

Joe Gunson
Catcher
Born: (1863-03-23)March 23, 1863 Philadelphia
Died: November 15, 1942(1942-11-15) (aged 79) Philadelphia
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
June 14, 1884, for the Washington Nationals
Last MLB appearance
September 18, 1893, for the Cleveland Spiders
MLB statistics
Batting average	.211
Home runs	0
Runs scored	96
Stats at Baseball Reference
Teams
Washington Nationals (1884) Kansas City Cowboys (1889) Baltimore Orioles (1892) St. Louis Browns (1893) Cleveland Spiders (1893)

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.^[1]

Gunson died at his Philadelphia home in 1942.^[2]