Nokona Athletic Goods Company was founded in 1926 by the Storey family in Nocona, Texas. In 1934, The Nokona baseball glove was trademarked. Today, Nocona Athletic Goods is one of a handful of companies that still manufacture baseball gloves in the United States. Nocona Athletic Goods outfits slow pitchsoftball players all the way to professional baseball players with hand stitched and laced ball gloves. The company offers glove repair when a customer notices unusual wear and tear. Numerous major league professionals endorse the Nokona brand of glove. The company also produces many other types of athletic equipment, including football pads and helmets.
History
Keeping with tradition, the factory has always been family oriented and America-centered. The company first began selling wallets, purses, and belts, but during the Great Depression, sales were slumping. Then company president Robert E. Storey decided to manufacture baseball gloves. Storey had played baseball for Rice University before becoming President of the Nocona Leather Goods Company in the 1930s. The business turned around, and within six years, Nocona was only making sports equipment. The name was changed to Nocona Athletic Goods Company in 1956. During the 1960s, many sports manufacturers moved from the United States to Asia, where materials and labor are cheaper. However, Storey would not move. He has reportedly said that he would rather quit and go fishing than closeup his factory and move. Today, the company still hasn't moved, and all of their gloves are American made. Bobby Storey, Robert's son managed the company from 1973 to 1991 and is still Chairman of the Board.
2006 factory fire
On July 18, 2006, the 80-year-old factory burned to the ground creating a loss of over $5,000,000. The fire was started by an overheated box fan. The building burned for eight hours before the fire was extinguished. Factory owners promised to rebuild the plant. Employees sifted through the ashes and salvaged what they could, especially the custom leather cutting dies for the Nokona gloves. The operation moved into an old boot factory in Nocona that had shut down. Ten days after the fire, Nocona Athletic Goods was back in production, and none of their employees lost any wages. The company moved to an old boot factory after the fire, before moving to a permanent location in 2008. In 2017, the old boot factory became the new permanent location.
