In the 1900s, accessories like baseball gear were cheap and looked very different from today. The baseball gloves looked like work gloves, and the cleat spikes were made of metal and had to be attached to the bottom of your shoe. Often, basemen got injured when a runner slid into a base and hit them on the ankle or leg with the spikes pointing at them. You could buy the gear at the general store or from Holman's Catalog. The bats, gloves and cleats would now cost $70.00 to $80.00. It used to cost 75 cents to $7.50 if you wanted to get a nice glove, cleats and bat. A lot of towns never had a baseball team. They used to play for fun, and if you won, it wasn't a big deal like it is now.

Holmans Spring and Summer Catalog, No. 38, 1926
PARO Acc4226/2, p 109

Description of Catalogue Image here