Baseball is the American past time, but there is only one brand of baseball glove that is made in America.
It's not Nike, Rawlings or Wilson. It's Nokona.
About 90 minutes north of Fort Worth, in Nocona, Texas, is the only company making gloves in the United States. And they're making it a family affair.
Rob Storey is a fourth generation vice president at Nokona Baseball Gloves. His family has been running the company for almost 100 years. Storey said his father, Bob, ran it. And his grandfather, Bobby, ran the company before him.
"My great grandfather actually started this company in 1926, and he was banker here in town, so he got the capital raised and got us started," Storey said.
When Storey walks around the Nokona factory he says hello to all the workers, calling each by their first name. He is actually introducing his extended family.
There's Doug, who builds the webbing. And Martin, who Rob says, "Turns the Gloves," by flipping them inside out.
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The big name companies long ago decided to make their gloves in mammoth factories overseas — never an option for Nokona.
"My grandad at the time was of the age and temperment that he said, you know, I'm not going to do that. If I have to tell my people that I'm going to go to china or japan then I'm just going to take a bucket and go fishing," Storey said.
He never did go fishing, and his company is still very much a family affair.
Rob also introduced us to Rosemary, who builds the inside of the gloves. She has another job — looking after Rob's father when he visits the factory.
"Rosemary keeps him when she's not working here; she looks after him," said Storey. "I pick him up and then she takes him home at night. He's in a nursing home and she gets him there and takes care of him."
He says every member of his family has worked at Nokona at one point or another, as has just about everyone in Nocona.
"Still doing it here in little ol' Nocona Texas, have been now for 82 years. We like to think we've left a decent legacy," said Storey.
