Northville, Michigan High School Team

This is an 1894 photo of a Northville, Michigan high school baseball team. A prominent player, Harry German, is seated on the floor at the right. 

In this photo, notice that there is a chest protector, face mask and catcher's mitt. Prior to the 1890s, teams did not wear mitts. Not wearing a mitt was especially painful for the catcher. His hands would puff up and get bruised. They could only catch for a few innings