Our Story
LEATHER GOODS CUT FROM AMERICA’S PASTIME
The Nocona Leather Goods Company was founded in 1926, producing leather billfolds and ladies’ handbags in Nocona, Texas, along the famed Chisolm Trail. The rich history of leather products in this region harkens back to the 1870s when Texas ranchers traveled the trails to get their cattle back east to larger markets. Cad McCall, whose family first brought Angus cattle to North Texas, was a local banker and rancher. His bank’s financial support for Nocona Leather Goods was integral to leather being a hallmark of Nocona for decades.
The city of Nocona has a rich Southwest history, being named after the famous Comanche Indian chief, Peta Nokona. Nokona was the father of perhaps the most famous of all Comanche chiefs, Quanah Parker. Quanah’s mother was the legendary Texan, Cynthia Ann Parker, who was captured as a youth and chose to live out most of her life with her new family.
When company President Bob Storey decided to make ballgloves in the early 1930’s, he wanted to place the word “Nocona” on each glove. Storey applied for a trademark of the name Nocona, only to be told that because there was an incorporated city in Texas with that name, he would be denied. So, he was clever to simply replace the “C” with a “K,” and called the company Nokona.
Since 1934, the skilled American workers at Nokona have been handcrafting premium ball gloves, using the world’s highest quality leathers. Nokona gloves are individually cut, stamped, stitched, laced, and embroidered, which gives each one its own unique identity and feel. Nokona is built around ballgloves, premium leather, quality, and American craftsmanship. Our powerful connection to America’s pastime, premium leathers, and American heritage inspired Nokona to return to our roots, with the recent launch of Nokona Leather Goods, handcrafting top-of-the-line carry goods, bags, belts, footwear, and accessories – all made with our famous ballglove leather. We put classic American workmanship into every product we offer, using techniques developed for close to 100 years.