Vintage Ken Konkol Signed Champion HandBall Gloves #347 U.S.H.A. HALL of FAME June 21, 1989
Being sold as a signed collectable, no COA
As pictured, some discoloring and or fading
Ken began working for Lindfelt Glove Manufacturing Company in 1953 as Office Manager. He and his business partner gradually acquired the firms stock, moved the operations to a modern facility on East Ovid Avenue and renamed it Champion Glove Manufacturing Company in 1963. Ken bought out his partner in 1983 and served as Champions president and owner until his retirement in February 1989. Ken was the dynamic force behind the research and development of many new Champion Glove products, including the baseball batting glove, the Don Carter bowling glove, and more than a dozen models for sports ranging from golf and racquetball to wheelchair racing. He also spearheaded such innovations as the first use of Velcro in sports gloves, the patented use of a special one-way stretch elastic in golf gloves, and the familiar clamshell plastic packaging for sports gloves. Because of these contributions, Ken was named to the NSGA Sporting Goods Industry Hall of Fame in 1989. One of his most memorable professional accomplishments was conducting handball clinics for NASA astronauts. One of Kens greatest loves was playing handball, which he learned while a student at Drake University. He later headed up the Tall Corn Handball Tournament at the Des Moines YMCA which still attracts handball players from across the nation. One result of this keen interest was his financial contribution to Drake for new handball courts which bear his name. Throughout the course of his life, Ken made significant contributions to the game of handball and was inducted into both the Iowa and United States Handball Halls of Fame Ken's greatest passion was flying.
Inscribed to Jim (Jim Mckee) (Won 7 National Handball Championships)
"We need your entry in the Tall Corn"