Leacock Sporting Goods, St. Louis

[mikesglove]

Robert James Leacock founded R.J. Leacock Sporting Goods in 1902 in St. Louis MO. Born in 1863 in Illinois, he moved to St. Louis in 1881 and worked in a variety of jobs including grocery clerk and postman before becoming a salesman for Norvell-Shapleigh Hardware Co. He eventually became a manager and buyer in the athletic goods department and stayed in that position from 1896 till 1902. R. J. Leacock Co. was not a manufacture of goods but used established companies as a supplier much as Shapleighs Hardware operated.

here is an 1907ad for a variety of sporting goods from R. J. Leacock.


below is a 1925 Leacock Spring/Summer catalog.


interesting to note that the 1925 "Dazzy Vance" glove ad above seem to show the early patent laced fingers through tabs attached to the backs of the fingers rather than the 1927 patented version.

An absolutely beautiful 1927 version "Dazzy Vance" glove with a great hang tag and box and three cloth patches on the back of the glove. the recent Legendary Auction offered this whole package from the John Graham collection..




A very nice Rawlings "Bill Doak" original model, again with three cloth patches.


A "Rogers Hornsby" model that could have been made for Leacock by Wilson Sporting Goods. The reinforced webbing was a Wilson patent in the 1920's although other firms licensed its use. Hornsby was a popular Wilson endorser.

[mikesglove]

Leacock Sporting Goods moved from their original headquarters to this building in 1917. The press release is below. As you can see by the for sale sign, the building is now vacant. it is being considered for historical designation. The grey building partially visible to the right was also part of the Leacock store.


Here are a few interesting Leacock baseball items.


This 36" Leacock "Rogers Hornsby" bat was found in the faults of H&B, leading some to speculate it had some MLB game use.


Pretty cool circa 1929 Jim Bottomley uniform top