Doug Allison (1845-1916), one of the original professional catchers in baseball history. The catcher for the original Cincinnati Red Stockings, Allison was mainly known for innovating catching in two ways: wearing a glove to catch pitchers, and being the first catcher to stand directly behind the plate.
While in the 1860s the run scoring in games was out of control, due to the horrible defense and catchers standing 25 feet back of home plate (in order to not lose their hands), Allison figured out baserunners were not as keen to steal against him. Instead of teams scoring upwards of 60 runs a game, Allison became a catching specialist, heavily limiting runs for his pitcher Asa Brainard.
When the National Association was formed in 1871, Allison would begin bouncing between teams for the rest of his career. He played for teams such as the Hartford Dark Blues, Providence Grays, and New York Mutuals. Despite his mediocre offense with a .271 average and 93 OPS+, Allison's innovations still make him one of the most important early catchers of the 19th century.
