Hutch Al Dark C55X 3-Finger

[Ernie70]

I have a Hutch Al Dark C55X 3-Finger glove and cannot find any information on it. Does anyone know what year it is from and what the model # C55X stands for??

[BretMan]

Being based in Ohio, I have a special fondness for the Ohio glove makers. Hutch was based in Cincinnati, as was MacGregor, along with the OK Manufacturing Company (and their eventual parent company, Wilson, had a presence making gloves in Ohio, too).

An invaluable tool for identifying old gloves is The Vintage Baseball Glove Catalog Source Book, which compiles historical catalog data from dozens of sporting goods companies. I would highly recommend this book for anyone interested in identifying their old gloves!

Unfortunately, the historical data for Hutch is kind of skimpy. While information for the larger companies, like Rawlings or Wilson is fairly complete, not a lot exists for Hutch. But the Catalog Source Book does have the 1956 Hutch catalog and the C55X model is listed for that year. Possibly, it was sold for a couple of years before or after that. This is definitely a mid-50's style glove and the three-finger glove was a popular design throughout the 1950's.

This was a near top-of-the-line glove, so I'm sure it's well-made. In 1956 Hutch sold about 20 different fielder's glove models, ranging from cheap kid-sized gloves to more expensive gloves suitable for professional play. Their least expensive glove that year retailed for about five bucks, the most expensive for around $22. The C55X sold for about $18, an indication that it was a good quality glove.

[Ernie70]

Thanks for all the great information!