Newbie Post

[bbrah]

Hi Everyone!

I've been lurking for a while and finally decided to join the forum. I only started collecting gloves about a year ago, but find them a lot more engaging than other things I have collected. In the past I collected coins, comic books, baseball cards, and Japanese toys. I like the idea of collecting something that you can actually use and play with! And I really like the hands-on aspect of repair, re-lacing, and reconditioning them. It's also very refreshing that those activities don't generally lower the value of a collectible glove if done properly. Contrast this to coin collecting, where even wiping a coin with a tissue can ruin its value!

I got started collecting gloves after my grandfather died. I got his Spalding 42-321 (Rocky Colavito endorsed) and a couple of old balls. The glove was like a block of wood, so I started researching ways to bring it back to life. I cleaned, re-laced, and reconditioned it and I was hooked on the hobby!

Since then I have restored about a dozen other gloves of various vintages in various conditions. I've given most away to neighborhood kids, but keep a few around as an excuse to get outside and play catch with my friends. Well, actually we play catch and drink beer, which is a lot more fun than sitting inside drinking beer.

After getting quotes on the job, I decided to undertake my most ambitious project yet. It's a D&M split finger that my brother gave me. I don't know the model, but it is endorsed by Ben Cantwell. It was basically falling apart, so I totally disassembled it, made replacements for a couple of rotten pieces, reconditioned everything, and sewed it back together with an awl. I also replaced the felt padding. It was a beater so I wasn't super concerned about originality. I couldn't find the correct piping to replace the original rubberized canvas so I used thin leather instead. All I have left is to put this new piping on and re-lace it. I'll post before and after photos when the project is done.

I have a couple of questions that I hope someone can answer.

Specifically, I see a lot of gloves for sale fairly cheap, and I used to just buy whatever I saw. I think I'm at the point now where I want to start differentiating. Is there a single resource listing models, rarity, and price ranges of gloves? Something like a Krause coin collecting book but for baseball gloves? If not, does someone at least have a list of brands and model numbers?

With a few exceptions my interest lies in gloves from the post-war until the 70s, so I'd be interested to see a ranking of brands and models from those eras.

Thanks a bunch for having such a great forum.

Regards,

-BRAH

[vintagebrett]

Welcome to the forum and to the hobby!

The publications you seek can be found here:

http://www.glovecollector.com/

There is a price guide and a catalog source book - I use the latter much more often but both are essential in my opinion.

[bbrah]

Thanks VintageBrett.

I'll order both the "Vintage Baseball Glove Pocket Price Guide" and the "Vintage Baseball Glove Catalog Source Book."

Do you think that the "Autograph Player Baseball Glove Finder" is also worth getting?

Regards,

-BRAH

[vintagebrett]

If you are looking for endorsed player model gloves then it is definitely another book to add to the resources.