Home of 'broken-in' baseball gloves and softball gloves by Master Glovesmith Dave Katz
Dave Katz and Katz Sports Shop were featured in the Houston Chronicle on December 21, 2011.
"I break in baseball gloves for a living. It's what I do. All day. Every day. I sell brand new baseball and softball gloves completely shaped and broken in. Or, send your glove to me and I'll return it shaped, conditioned and broken in."
Katz is Picasso with a catcher's mitt. He suffers for his baseball gloves.
Read More ›The San Francisco Chronicle mentioned Katz Gloves in an article on March 2, 2013 titled:
Before Neshek even got to the minor leagues, he used a glove produced by an obscure company, Katz, out of Meriden, Conn. - and he still uses it. "Goes back to around 2004," he said. "After my first good year in the minors, Mizuno wanted to sponsor me. I told 'em to just stick their logo patch on there, and they did. But then I had Tommy John surgery in '08, and they dropped me. So much for their logo. Back to Katz."
Neshek said he "can't stand" new gloves, "because I can't really feel the ball. This thing here is really maneuverable. It's me. I know the strings could break at any time. If I took it out to play catch with (Grant) Balfour, it would probably break right now (laughter). But I thought it was about done three years ago, and it's still good."
Read More ›Quinnipiac University Business interviewed Dave Katz for entrepreneurship in the Spring 2011 issue:
David Katz ’75 is to baseball gloves what Stradivarius was to violins.
The marketing major and owner of Katz Sport Shop in Meriden since the mid-70s knows how to break in a glove properly. For nonplayers, “breaking in” is taking a stiff piece of leather and making it supple, an extension of a player’s hand.
Read More ›The Hartford Courant mentioned Katz Gloves in an article on April 20, 2013 titled:
David Katz, 62, who loved playing baseball growing up and played on a Greater Hartford Twilight Baseball League team into his late 30s, has been doing just that since the mid-1970s when he bought a small sporting goods store from his brother in his hometown of Meriden.
Read More ›Fox News Small Business Center interviewed Katz Gloves on July 28, 2014 titled:
Today’s Salute to American Success goes to Dave Katz, owner of Meriden, Conn.-based Katz Gloves. Katz breaks in baseball gloves for a living. That’s right – breaks in baseball gloves – for a living.
Read More ›Hi Dave,
I've been meaning to get back to you since we received this glove,,but with summer stuff and staring new job i got sidetracked..
Dave the glove is simply awesome!!! at the most basic level, the glove itself is the same you can buy off the shelf yet the reason why i initially contacted you is because i didn't want an "off the shelf" nor did i want to go through the break in process of buying an expensive glove and wind up doing it wrong! Truth be known, I've done the latter twice now, and aside from my ego being bruised from failing to properly break it in, it started to cost my son out on the field...He's a great player but at times, he was missing hot line drives, etc because he couldn't close his glove completely, or he couldn't manipulate the glove the way a well broken in glove can be...
You gave us exactly what we needed....you made this process very easy and simplified,,which, in all honesty, is and art that is lost know-a-days, in this marketing laden, hype-driven, sales, gotta-have-the-best, baseball equipment market......I called you, explained my situation, told you the skill level of my son and what he was looking for and you told me, based on your wealth of experience, what in your opinion, glove would be best for him,,,,i trusted you and the end result was a great glove, but more importantly a very excited 11yr old! You also made a father very happy as well..You have a great product and service. Thank you for your help and when we crank up again, you will have a staunch advocate promoting Katz Gloves!!
Sincerely and with many thanks.
- Pat R."Hey Dave just got the mitt in one day this mitt is awesome and super fast shipping. I caught for 20 yrs, this is the nicest mitt i ever saw. My son who owned just about every good mitt on the market said this is the nicest mitt ever. Great job and thank you. I will be sending you more business."
- Eric W."Came in today and are absolutely amazing! You are a true craftsman and I will refer you to everyone I know. Every little league team across the 50 states should know about your service. Thank you so much."
- Adam B."Hi Dave, I bought a softball glove from you a couple of years ago for my daughter, and it has been one of the best purchases I’ve ever made. She loves it, and everyone who sees it is amazed at how soft and supple the glove is. It transformed her confidence - thanks."
- Tim H."I just got my gloves back and they feel great. I am super excited to test them out soon. I have told all of my teammates about you, hopefully you will hear from some of them.
Thanks for making a 49 year old excited to get back on the field!"
- Mike C., Texas"David - Got the mitt today. Better than I expected!!! I was actually in a sporting goods store today picking up my son's other catching gear....while I was there, I tried on a couple of Rawlings mitts. Stiff as a board. Got home & had received our new Katz mitt. Felt game ready.
Thanks for all your help."
- Jim T."Thanks for the quick turn around on my son’s glove. It came in last Friday just in time for tryouts but they switched tryouts on us until this next weekend because of the Texans game. But I do appreciate you getting it back so quickly. I don’t use my glove very much but I will be sending you mine also.
He loves his “new” glove! You did a great job. I will definitely refer you if I see anyone that needs their glove broken in. Thanks."
- Greg O."I have been lucky enough to acquire two new Katz gloves within the past couple of weeks. First is an infield I web, second is an outfield H web. These are by far the nicest gloves I have ever owned, and I currently own about 75 gloves, mostly Wilson a few Rawlings and a couple of Trevinos. You have to be the best kept secret in the baseball glove market.
Thank you for offering such a nice product."
- Steve B."Wow! That was my first thought after opening the box and getting the Katz glove in my hand. I am 44 years old and played baseball my whole life and i don't think I had ever held a properly broken in baseball glove until I put on that katz glove and gave it a try. Now I understand what you were talking about.. I will probably sell a hundred of them this weekend when my son takes it to the ballpark for the first time just from people looking at it and trying it on. Maybe I will order a hundred of them next year and open Katz gloves Alabama. What a quality glove."
- Jimmy T., Alabama