Abstract: A baseball glove for protecting a hand and for enabling the wearer to catch a ball. The glove includes a front panel having inner and outer plies and a back panel joined to the front panel. A pad of open cell foam material is disposed between the inner and outer plies. The pad, which includes first and second opposed surfaces and an edge surface, has the major portion of the pad surfaces rendered impervious to the flow of air. One or more vents in at least one of the pad surfaces provides for the passage of air therethrough at a rate allowing the pad to substantially absorb the force of impact of a ball.

Abstract: A shoulder pad assembly for protecting the upper body and shoulders. The shoulder pad assembly includes a substantially rigid outer shell having left and right body members. Each of the body members has a generally horizontally disposed arched portion for spanning one of the shoulders. A chest plate portion and a back plate portion depend from the arched portion. The shoulder pad assembly also includes a cantilever support extending between the plate portions for supporting the outer shell above the shoulders to substantially reduce the impact of the outer shell on the shoulders. The cantilever support is configured to support the outer shell above the trapezius muscle such that, when the muscle is substantially developed, the generally horizontally disposed arched portion is evenly supported on the trapezius muscle by the cantilever support.