System and method for making one-piece protective sports articles

A method of manufacturing a protective sports article, the method including:

• positioning a liner over a last, the liner being made of a flexible material and defining an interior pocket, a portion of the last being disposed within the interior pocket when the liner is positioned over the last;
• applying a plurality of padding pieces to the liner at respective locations, the plurality of padding pieces each including a base surface and an adhesive covering base surface,
• wherein the applying includes applying the adhesive of the plurality of padding pieces to the liner;
• applying pressure to the plurality of padding pieces, thereby adhering the plurality of padding pieces to the liner via the adhesive and forming the protective sports article;
• and
• removing the protective sports article from the last.

A method of manufacturing a protective sports article, the method including:

• (a) inserting a thumb portion of a last into a thumb portion of a liner,
• wherein the last has shape of a hand, and
• wherein the liner is made of a flexible material and has the shape of a hand;
• after (a), (b) positioning the liner over the last including positioning finger portions of the last within finger portions of the liner and positioning a palm portion of the last within a palm portion of the liner;
• after (b), (c) inserting a tab on the thumb portion of the last into a slot in the palm portion of the last;
• after (c), (d) applying a plurality of padding pieces to the liner at respective locations, the plurality of padding pieces each including a base surface and an adhesive covering the base surface,
• wherein the applying includes applying the adhesive of the plurality of padding pieces to the liner;
• and
• after (d), (e) applying pressure to the plurality of padding pieces, thereby adhering the plurality of padding pieces to the liner via the adhesive.