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You are here: Home / Language / Who Invented the First Baseball Catcher’s Mask and When Did Protective Masks Become Mandatory For All Catchers?

Who Invented the First Baseball Catcher’s Mask and When Did Protective Masks Become Mandatory For All Catchers?

March 16, 2020 by Karen Hill

James Alexander “Jim” Tyng was the first baseball player to wear a catcher’s mask while playing for Harvard in 1877.

The first baseball catcher’s mask was a fencer’s mask introduced by Harvard University’s Fred Thayer who received a patent for the mask in 1878.

It wasn’t until 1890 that the major leagues adopted the idea that all catchers should wear protective masks.

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Filed Under: Language

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

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