When Austin Meggitt was nine years old, he almost got into a bike accident trying to steer his bicycle while carrying his baseball bat, glove, and ball at the same time.
There was just no safe way for a baseball-loving kid to carry his equipment while riding his bike. Meggitt solved this problem for himself and for kids everywhere when he created a solution out of standard hardware store materials. Using PVC piping along with standard grips, clamps, and bolts, Meggitt invented the Glove and Battie Caddie, a yoke that hitches to a bike’s handlebars. Kids can clip a baseball bat across the yoke, then hang a glove from its hook and store a ball in its dangling pouch. The device allows them to securely carry their gear with no impediment to steering, according to MIT’s inventor archive.
Meggitt’s invention quickly became popular with other kids in his neighborhood, then won him the Grand Prize in a national invention contest in 1998. His design was marketed by By Kids For Kids, a company that invests in child inventions.