The Tooth Protector in Early Professional Baseball.

Abstract

Protection of athletes during sporting activities was of some concern even in the late 1800s. That concern continues, over 140 years later. In baseball, safety for the catcher was of primary concern because of inherent risks of being "behind the plate" while balls are pitched, bats are swung, and runners attempting to score come barreling in. Doug Allison was the skilled catcher for the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings who was known to use certain objects for self-protection, including George Wright's rubber "Mouthpiece." This report reviews earliest development of mouth protection in baseball, as known through reports of the times, and Doug Allison's career.