Gloves weren't invented until 1872 and not used in a professional game until 1875.
When Big Ed joined the league, there were still more than half of the players who did not wear them mostly to avoid ridicule.
One of the strange things about the era was that one of the biggest taunters of glove wearers A G Spalding, who later made quite a fortune selling sporting goods including baseball gloves.
I know this is thread is starting to veer of subject, and I apologize for that.
Big Ed I see "Big Ed" was listed at 6'1", 170 lbs. ....big for the era, I suppose. Or perhaps he just came up big in the clutch. Anson was a very large ballplayer for his day -- 6'0, 227 lbs.
That's an intersting tidbit about Spaulding.
I know this is thread is starting to veer of subject
Sports threads invariable do.