Nocona Athletic
208 Walnut Street
Nocona, TX 76255
(817) 825-3326
Do you have a sports nut in your family? Take them on a visit to the Nocona Athletic factory, where they make Nokona baseball gloves, softball gloves, and other sporting goods products. Here in the leather goods capital of the Southwest, Nocona makes one of the three glove lines still produced in the United States. This is not as highly automated a factory as some others, and workers still have a major hand in the process.
One of the most important factors in making a great glove is selecting the right leather. At Nocona, your tour guide will pass around samples of different types of leathers so you can feel the difference in texture. Each glove is die-cut, stamped with the name and logo, and then carefully sewed and iron. Workers then apply the laces to hold the glove together before stretching it on a hot iron.
From the leather glove portion of the factory, you'll move into the area that assembles football equipment. You can also see the company's collection of old leather baseball gloves and football helmets.
Open: Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. The factory is closed on holidays, the first two weeks of July, and two weeks around Christmas.
