ALEXANDRIA, Va., Nov. 25 -- United States Patent no. 12,478,127, issued on Nov. 25.
"Catcher's shoe" was invented by Matthew Kirby (Wilmington, Del.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A shoe configured for athletic activity features a sole including a heel portion, an interior floor portion, a toe portion, a rear portion, a top, and left and right sides, all assembled to define a closed-end cavity sized for ingress and egress of a human foot, and further including means for releasably clamping the shoe against the foot, wherein a top surface of said interior floor portion at the rear of the shoe has an elevation that is 1.5 to 3.375 inches greater than a top surface of said interior floor portion...