Irving Franklin, a longtime sporting goods manufacturer who developed the first batting gloves designed for baseball, died Nov. 10 at 93.
Franklin Sports now custom-fits 150 Major League Baseball players with gloves and also manufactures and imports fielders’ gloves, and professional and youth gear for soccer, football, hockey and other sports.
Franklin worked with hall of famer Mike Schmidt during spring training in 1983 to develop a glove custom-designed for baseball. The company was looking to get its name and brand on MLB diamonds. At the time, few players wore batting gloves.
In the late 1960s, Franklin signed New York Jets quarterback Joe Namath as a client and became the first sporting-goods company to market a complete line of products around an athlete. Other athletes in Franklin’s stable have included Terry Bradshaw, Dan Marino, Herschel Walker, Sugar Ray Leonard, David Robinson, Don Mattingly, Bo Jackson, Cal Ripken Jr. and Barry Bonds.
Franklin was born in Brockton, Mass. and joined his grandfather in a scrap leather business. The company produced gloves, trigger-finger mittens and other products for the Army during the Korean War. — jta