Spalding DiMaggio Embellishment

[softball66]

Like Mike says this is useful information and should dissuade us from drawing too much inference with the extra inspector's tag added. I would assume this was internal inspection and the tag would have to be sewn after the inspection. With the wartime gloves this was an external inspection made of the gloves and a packing slip would accompany the glove, or sewn on as I've heard.
I've checked about 30 or 40 of my 1930s and '40s gloves and do not find any inspection tag numbers, etc. Even my wartime Rawlings Doak glove or Elmer Riddle don't have inspection tags though.
We should make records on some of the gloves we're finding. Gloveworks said he'd seen countless models and Mike Mize has found some specifics.

[breakin]

Hi, I'm the one who fell for the glove. Well...at least it was better than going to the casino.

[okdoak]

I'm betting that many of us have been less than pleased with the actual glove we received compared to it's glowing description on ebay. I know I have. In your case, if the seller was a stand up guy he'd offer you a refund. It sounds like he's been a collector for a while and probably should have known better than to infer that the inspection tag had some significance to DiMaggio's jersey number. In light of the information on the forum, even if it was an honest mistake, he should refund your money. Granted that a seller can set any BIN amount he wants on ebay and "let the buyer beware", but I think he misrepresented the glove as something unique when he should have known it wasn't. Hope your next deal goes better.

[breakin]

Hi, thanks, I actually said i may return the glove based on the fact he told me he had to put conditioner on the glove so that it would "appear as it did in the picture", and what made me think was.... what do you mean you have to put conditioner on the glove so that it looks like it does in the pictures? Didn't you JUST take the pictures? And the stuff already wore off? But I got the glove and the glove did not look anything like the pictures. The pictures looked much darker/richer and when the glove arrived it was actually light brown.

I did pick up a copy of that awesome pocket guide to gloves by Dave Bushing and Joe Phillips, (Joe was the one who turned me onto this site!)... and it does have a $500 stated value in the better condition. It is in pretty nice shape so I actually did buy it based on that book value, not the association with the #5, though I was under the impression that it was not known what it meant. And that with some perseverance, possibly I could find out what it means and within a couple weeks, I now know what it means.


The 5 appears to be a stamp, (after seeing it I thought it could have been the remnants of a price tag) the tag is crooked being almost a triangle, and it appears that it could have been a mistake and got caught in the machine or it wasn't torn off in the next phase of the assembly line? Nevertheless.. My gut instinct is if a company was to put a tag of a players # in the glove, they would do a stand up job, not a hack like this tag, the 5 is very close to being stitched over. And the fact that he said he researched for 18 months and couldn't find any info, almost to the point where this was the only tag in existence, yet was in contact with Joe P, yet never thought to ask here on this forum. Or did he? I actually mentioned to Joe at the time I got the glove who the seller was and he mentioned another person entirely that he had spoken with about the glove. So, there appears to be a mystery 3rd/4th party?

But I can see why this whole deal would upset some folks...it allows you to concoct thoughts to fill in holes...... from the description, being a manufacture myself, I thought there was a possibility, before I got it of course, that Spalding made up a batch, gave them to Joe, and Joe gave them out to people on his travels, he seems like the kind guy who would have. I know this is a fabrication of my own mind but I was lead to fantasize what it could be when it was nothing at all. Which I think is where the danger comes in.

When I asked the seller why he treated a glove after he sold it, he said he was doing me a favor and I thought he should have asked first. Afterall, it was no longer his glove to put chemicals on. I did blow up and said I may return the glove and he was upset telling me what an amazing deal it was, etc etc... but he did agree to accept a return. I don't like returning items from people I get into arguments with. So... I really didn't feel good about returning the item wondering when/if/how long it would take to actually get the money back. So... just like diving for a line drive and missing it, you get up and wipe your pants off and get ready for another. But I hear you, there are rules and it's a matter of principles. I left him a positive, I was trying to be nice, but I should have held off because to this day, I believe the seller has yet to reciprocate.
Oops, sorry to ramble.

[crackofthebat]

I wonder if this is the same guy I bought a Wilson A2000 from a couple of years ago. I bid on it because it was a nice orange color. When I received the glove it was dark brown and weighed a ton. I thought I was sent the wrong glove. I contacted the seller and he said he "conditioned" it before sending it to me. I did keep it because it was in good shape, but there is nothing I could do to restore the original color. I told the seller he should let the buyer decide what he wants to do with the glove after it is sold. I think he meant well, but didn't understand what he was doing.

[okdoak]

Oddly enough, Fred, I had the same experience with a Wilson A2010 Johnny Antonelli from ebay years ago. I mean there was so much oil on it that it actually squished when I pressed on it. He even oiled the patch. I kept it though too because I liked it otherwise. After wiping it multiple times with rags and paper towels and scrubbing it with Murphys (over a period of years!) most of the oil is gone. Luckily, I haven't been sent another glove that the seller thought to "condition" for me.
Breakin, if you like the glove and you can live with the deal, then forget the rest and hang onto it. Welcome to the forum and the zany world of glove collecting!

[breakin]

hi ! Thanks! Yes, I think I will keep it. I may be opening up a batting cage and I thought it would be great to have a display of gloves. I like having the old ones so i can try and get some old timers in to hang out, put on some mitts and tell some stories. The way I figure it is, these gloves may trigger those thoughts! I know kids who like baseball flip out when they see an old glove, so they'll listen.

lol But yes, this is very cool now., thanks to those who work on putting forums like this together and those who have put together the guides ... make it so much more enjoyable. And the people are really great. Willing to share valuable information and add their experience! Baseball is the best! That's the name of my future batting cages is "Baseball's It" (for me anyways). Thanks