Rawlings (company)

Rawlings

Type	Subsidiary
Founded	St. Louis, Missouri (1887)
Headquarters	Town and Country, Missouri, USA
Parent	Newell Brands
Website	www.rawlings.com

Rawlings is a sports equipment manufacturing company based in the United States and founded in 1887. The parent company has been Newell Brands since 2016. Rawlings specializes in baseball equipment, but also manufactures softball, basketball, training equipment and American footballs. They have also recently started making fan gear such as chairs, tents, and bags with team logos on them.

Horween Leather Company has provided Rawlings with leather since 1929.^[1] In 2003, Horween was providing leather for 3,000 Rawlings baseball gloves annually, and half of professional baseball players were using baseball gloves made from Horween leather.^[2]

History

Rawlings was founded in Saint Louis in 1887, during the middle of the Long Depression, by George and Alfred Rawlings. The brothers set up a sporting goods store with its own catalog. They sold "Fishing Tackle, Guns, Baseball, Football, Golf, Polo, Tennis, Athletic and General Sporting Goods". ^[3]

The company is credited with introducing football shoulder pads in 1902, and the first all-weather football.

Rawlings and Major League Baseball

It began providing the St Louis Cardinals with gloves in 1906, and all of the major leagues with balls the next year.

In 1920, Bill Doak, a pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, suggested that a web be placed between the first finger and the thumb in order to create a pocket. This design soon became the standard for baseball gloves. Doak patented his design and sold it to Rawlings. His design became the precursor to modern gloves, and enabled Rawlings to become the preferred glove of professional players.^[4]

In 1955 Spalding bought Rawlings, and began using it to manufacture baseballs.

In 1957 the company introduced the Gold Glove award, which became the major award for baseball. It also and sponsors the Minor League Baseball (MiLB) "Rawlings Woman Executive of the Year" award.

13 years after acquiring it, an anti-trust investigation forced Spalding to sell Rawlings again, but as it did so Spalding set up a contract that would have Rawlings manufacture baseballs to sell with the Spalding logo.

When this agreement ended in 1977, Rawlings began using its own logo, becoming the official supplier of the major leagues. Spalding had been the supplier for a century. All the balls supplied to the major and minor leagues are manufactured in Costa Rica.^[5] Additional low-end versions are manufactured in China.^[6]

Many major leaguers have endorsed Rawlings equipment over the years. There are four main series for the gloves: the Gold Glove Series, the Heritage Pro Series, the Heart of the Hide Series, the Pro Preferred Series and the Gold Glove Collection Series.

Rawlings and American Legion Baseball

Rawlings sponsors the Rawlings Big Stick Award, which is presented to the American Legion Baseball "player who accumulated the most total bases."^[7]

Rawlings and National Football League

As of August 19, 2010, Rawlings signed a multi year deal with the National Football League for products such as tent canopies, grills, and chairs. This will also include non-exclusive tailgate products such as coolers, stadium seats, and footballs.^[8]

In 2005 Rawlings corporate headquarters were moved from Fenton, Missouri, to Town and Country, Missouri.^[9]

Footnotes

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rawlings baseball equipment.

• Rawlings corporate site
• Rawlings Gold Glove Award site.
• Rawlings Gear