A.G. Spalding Company Subsidiaries Business Records
Content Description
This collection consists of sporting good manufacturing companies' corporate records from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Most materials relate to companies that were or would become corporate subsidiaries of the A.J. Spalding Company, a pioneering and influential America sporting goods company. The records consist primarily of meeting minutes (stockholders meetings or board of directors meetings) with a few other types of records included. Spalding subsidiaries represented in the collection include A.J. Reach Company, Wright and Ditson, and Peck and Snyder. The collection also includes a minutes book from J.D. Shibe and Company. It is unclear if J.D. Shibe was ever associated with Spalding. Formats includes minutes books, corporate by-laws, and other corporate records.
Dates
- Creation: 1888-1934
Creator
- A.J. Reach Co. (Organization)
- Wright & Ditson (Organization)
- J.D. Shibe and Company (Organization)
- Peck & Snyder (Organization)
Conditions Governing Access
There are no access restrictions on this collection.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright status for collection materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.
Biographical / Historical
A.G. Spalding, a major American manufacturer of sporting goods, was founded by former baseball player Albert Goodwill Spalding in Chicago in 1876. In 1880, the National League adopted the Spalding baseball as its official ball, and the company had great success in selling baseball equipment. From the begining, though, Spalding manufactured sporting goods for a wide variety of sporting, athletic, and recreational activities. Spalding equipment was widely advertised through the company's mail-order catalogs and the numerous instructional books and guidebooks published through the Spalding Athletic Library.
Throughout the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, Spalding bought or merged with numerous competitors, including Wright and Ditson, A.J. Reach, and Peck and Snyder. Spalding often continued producing equipment under these brand names for many years after the acquisitions.
Spalding remained a leading sporting good manufacturer throughout the twentieth century. In the early 2000s, Russell Brands acquired Spalding.
Biographical / Historical
Wright and Ditson, an important early sporting good manufacturer, was established in Boston in about 1880 by former baseball player George Wright and merchant Henry Ditson. Wright and Ditson sold a wide range of sporting goods and was particularly known for baseball, football, and tennis equipment. After Henry Ditson's untimely death in 1892, rival A.G. Spalding acquired a controlling interest in Wright and Ditson. Spalding continued to sell sporting goods under the Wright and Ditson label for many years.
Biographical / Historical
A.J. Reach Company, an important early sporting good manufacturer, was established in Philadelphia in the early 1880s by former baseball player Al Reach and merchant Ben Shibe. Reach had been selling sporting goods and baseball equipment in Philadelphia since the late 1860s, and Shibe's family business J.D. Shibe had been been manufacturing baseball and cricket balls since the late 1860s.
Shibe and Reach partnered to found the A.J. Reach Company, which was one of the most successful sporting good companies of the late nineteenth century, selling equipment for a many different sporting, athletic, and recreational activities. In about 1889, A.J. Reach sold its retail business and a significant amount of Reach company stock to the A.G. Spalding Company. A.J. Reach retained an independent manufacturing business until Spalding acquired all of the company's remaining assets in 1934.
Biographical / Historical
Peck and Snyder, an important early baseball and sporting goods manufacturer, was founded in New York City in 1866 by merchants Andrew Peck and W. Irving Snyder. Peck and Snyder was one of the first successful baseball equipment manufacturers, selling some of the earliest commercially made baseball bats, balls, and caps. The company also produced some of the earliest baseball trading cards. Peck and Snyder remained an important seller of baseball and other athletic equipment during the late nineteenth century. A.G. Spalding Company acquired Peck and Snyder in 1894. Spalding continued to sell merchandise under the Peck and Snyder label for many years.
Biographical / Historical
J.D. Shibe and Company, an important early manufacturer of baseballs and other sporting goods, was established by brothers John D. and Ben Shibe in Philadelphia in the 1870s. Ben would defect to the crosstown rival J.D. Reach and Company in the early 1880s, but J.D. Shibe continued to be a major manufacturer of baseball and other sporting equipment through at least the early twentieth century.
Full Extent
.44 Cubic Feet (1 document case (legal))
Language of Materials
English
Subject
- A.G. Spalding & Bros. (Organization)
- Status
- Completed
- Date
- April 2026
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the University of Notre Dame Rare Books & Special Collections Repository