Nothing says spring like baseball. And here in Texas, spring is also smelling a whole lot like leather, as one Seguin couple finds themselves deep in the heart of the game with the continued success of their online custom glove company – a company that is not only Texas based but now Seguin based.
Rico Gloves, The Custom Glove Company, for the last 12 years has been represented in fields across the world. Whether Little League or Major League, the company of Tony and Tara Maddi has built a reputation for helping players enjoy the game with their very own personalized leather glove.
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In addition to players, a plethora of other well-known entities and individuals are also noted as having one on hand. That prestigious list includes Jack Nicklaus, Rice University, Whataburger, Mark Wahlberg, 50 Cent, Travis Scott and even President Barack Obama.
Whether to play the sport or as a simple gift gesture, Rico Gloves continues to be a part of the baseball story – a story that started in 1875 when Charlie Waitt, a St. Louis outfielder and first baseman donned the first pair of fresh-colored gloves.
Today, the Maddi’s continue to evolve that part of history as they pour their love of the game into their company – a company that like most things, started with a simple conversation in the basement.
“We were both working, and I was teaching P.E. at the elementary level. I played professional baseball, so I knew about gloves, and I wanted to make a custom glove, so I wanted to figure out how to get that done and there was a lot of manufacturing going on. There was some in Mexico. They make gloves all over the world. So, I made one there and I showed it to people, and they said, ‘I want to get one like that,’ and so in my head, I was like well, I could probably sell these gloves,” said Tony.
For Tara, her answer was simple and supportive.
“And then he comes to me and he’s like what do you think about opening a glove company and I’m like, ‘sure, why not? Let’s try it,” said Tara. “He was in pro ball and wanted to stay with something in that.”
Of course, the decision to create a glove company was more than just for the love of the game. It is a deeply rooted passion for Tony – a passion that lies within his own success in the game.
“I was a sports person growing up my whole life. I just loved sports. I even had a teacher in school say that he’s obsessed with sports, so I was always involved in sports. I got drafted out of high school for the Astros and then I played six years with the Astros and then I went to Italy and played professionally and then I went back to school and got my master’s degree and was a schoolteacher,” said Tony.
Although humble to talk about his career, Tony says the company has exceeded his expectations especially on a personal level.
“I get to stay in baseball. I get to talk to dads, and they tell me about their kids playing sometimes which is fun, but I get to stay involved and I get to talk to people about gloves,” said Tony.
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Ensuring that gloves make it into the hands of anyone who wants them is what Tony says drives Rico Gloves.
“What do we do differently? Our differentiator is our price point. A lot of these bigger brands are a lot more expensive, but we are giving you a higher end glove with the same quality but at a lower price point and then we have all the options and more options like color options and designs. You can put logos if they are not trademarked,” said Tony.
Tony says the challenging part of the order process might just be its glove customizer where folks have the daunting task of having to choose from over 50 plus color and design options.
“They are looking for different web styles on the web of the glove. We have all those on our customizer. You can do different colors for the different parts of the glove like the welting or the binding which are different parts of the glove – different designs on the back of the hand and then you can customize on the colors in there, different sizes, straps on the wrist, left hand/right hand thrower so many options,” said Tony.
Although gloves are shipped to folks across the world, Tony says making sure that the gloves “say Texas” has become a vital factor for their Texas based customers.
“One of the things that we’ve done is we’ve really highlighted Texas on our gloves too. We made a Texas palm stamp – you know like inside the palm, you look in – well, we have a Texas outline there with our logo in there. We’ve done the home plate on the side with a Texas flag embroidery inside Homeplate. They’ve had flags of Texas on a glove, but we did the stamp and then we tried to get it out to Texas people,” said Tony. “I’ve gotten a great response for the Texas flag,” said Tony.
Tony says the opportunity to make a glove one’s own is what he believes is the driving force when compared to regular glove companies. In fact, Rico Gloves has even managed to gain the attention of one of the much larger and leading brands in gloves. Although it wasn’t the kind of attention they wanted, they now at least know that they are enough to be noticed.
As for their customers, Tony says their gloves have been well represented over the years.
“We have pro players that we have gloves for. Pro players have glove contracts. We have a few of those guys. They get so many gloves a year. We have a couple of guys who are on the brink of the MLB. We’ve had big leaguers. We’ve had Shaun Marcum. We stopped doing Major Leaguers and now we are doing them again. You know you’ve got to pay those guys. A lot of people think ‘oh, they get free gloves.’ They get free gloves, but they also get paid,” said Tony.
But perhaps some of the most prized customers for the Maddi’s are the children who take the field proudly with the Rico brand.
“We had a couple of Italians in the Little League World Series and we had some in the US. They went out of their way to choose Rico,” said Tara.
When it comes to marketing and growing their company, Tony says there’s no better platform than the Little League World Series.
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“We’ve had Little League World Series kids (wear gloves), several. We send the gloves out. Sometimes, we don’t know who we are sending it to. So, they’ll tag us on Instagram like from a photo on TV and then we post that during the Little League World Series and that always goes big. It gets a lot of attention,” said Tony. “A professional player post with a glove does not get as much attention as a kid in the Little League World Series.”
The couple says it’s often difficult to envision their road but are grateful to have come this far.
“Early on, I told Tara, I said that if we could sell a glove a day, that would be just like great. Our first order was like, we got an order, and we were so shocked, and it was like okay…? And then we got two. So, it was interesting for us because we were still holding two full-time jobs and still trying to run that at night,” said Tara.
Since that first glove, the company has maintained a steady growth pattern with approximately 200 gloves a day. This past November, the company recorded sales of 1,700 gloves in just that month. That number, however, is not the company’s highest and is only one of the highest totals reported in recent months.
“We are so overwhelmed right now,” said Tara. “They ship them to us. We have a manufacturer in Asia, and we send them out. We see it all. It’s a lot. We are hands on. We box them and put postage. So, anybody who has seen it around the country, my little hands have been on it. It’s been great because between Tony and I, we make it work because with him marketing and me shipping, it takes two people to see that product through.”
While operating the company with limited personnel is often times difficult, Tony says getting to see the customer’s reaction in receiving one of their gloves or the words of thanks from their customers make it all worth it.
“Marketing wise, it’s awesome when customers send us photos and videos, that’s just like gold,” said Tony.
Challenging for the couple has also been the road between Seguin and their other home in Kansas City, Missouri. They say splitting their time is often difficult yet manageable thanks to Rico Gloves being a home based, online company.
“Just knowing that most businesses fail, and we haven’t. I think that is a big highlight just for me personally,” said Tony.
Even in the midst of their busy season, the couple is still finding time to enjoy the game. This spring, they will be cheering on their most favorite player, seven-year-old daughter Malena who like others have already begun the joys and memories of Seguin Little League.
Being a part of such an experience is what Tara says makes Rico Gloves a family affair. She says it’s all for the love of the game, for the love of business and most importantly, for the love of family.
“It’s amazing and when I sit back and think ‘gosh, man!” said Tara. “We just want our business to stay growing and we want it to be something to be left for our family if possible. We are lucky it’s come together like that. It’s a passion for business, and a sport and for family. It’s definitely a family thing because it brings families together. I really feel like when these guys are making these gloves, their kids are with their parents trying to help them design whatever they are doing. It’s a neat process. It’s amazing.”
To learn more or to place an order, visit Ricogloves.com. •
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