Glove Get Together - National - Baltimore Orioles Game

[ScottWNJ]

I drove down for the day from New Jersey on Thursday morning. Left at 5:30AM and didn't get home til 2AM Friday. It was an absolute pleasure finally getting to meet many of the guys on this forum. Although I've seen Brett in his videos and John Graham's picture is in his book, it was great to be able to put faces to the names on this forum. The booth looked great with gloves in the glass case as well as along the back "wall". There was also a large pile of bargain gloves for kids and adults to rummage through. Vintage bats, uniforms and advertising pieces complemented the glove display. William's beautiful display case held samples of his baseballs and vintage replica gloves. You have to see these in person. They are amazing! John Graham had stacks of books for sale as well as a continuous computer slide show of his book. Well done, gentlemen. The convention center was huge. This was my first ever National, so I was unprepared for the magnitude of it all. I made several trips around the show and Brett was gracious enough to let me rest at the booth between trips. While there, I got to talk gloves with Jerry (Mr. Mitt), John Popovich, MurphUSA, Fred Lowman, JD, John Graham, William and of course, Brett. I was prepared to head home around 3PM, but Brett had an extra ticket to the game. So, after the show closed at 6pm, we walked over to Camden Yards, where the camraderie and conversation continued throughout the entire ballgame. After the game, it was time for me to say goodbye and make the 3 hour drive back to Jersey. The only negative was that I was parked several blocks away on the fourth floor of a now empty parking garage. (My only defense against a potential mugger was my Nick Markakis bobblehead doll! But, thankfully, I didn't have to use it). I arrived home at 2AM, hit the bed and didn't get up til noon Friday. It was a great day, and I want to thank Brett, William and all the guys for making me feel welcome. I look forward to seeing you all again at a future event.

[GloveCrazy]

Thanks for the photos and writeups. I really wanted to go this year but couldn't make it happen and it's good to experience it through you guys. The booth looks GREAT!

I'll probably need a few days to recover!!!

Yea, true dat! When I did the Anaheim National I was actually in decent hockey shape, but all that standing, walking the floor, and being up mentally absolutely floored me. It's really fun and there's a certain rush to it, but it just saps your energy reserves. By Sat and Sunday night I went straight home to bed. I actually laughed at myself several times for being so out of shape (my wife, too).

Keep Pushing - REO Speedwagon

Scott, did you happen to take photos of any of the other booths?

[vintagebrett]

We've made it to the final day. Saturday went pretty well - there were lots of people looking for bargains and we were happy to oblige. I moved a bunch of the bargain gloves to the front table and we had a lot of people checking them out. Most of the comments were "These are so cool!" and "How did they catch with these?"

Off to work!

[ScottWNJ]

No Rob, those were the only photos I took. I was sitting at the booth, pretty much exhausted from walking. I pulled out my phone and snapped all three photos without ever getting up off the chair. I really hadn't though about taking pictures at the show and didn't bring a real camera.

Scott

[softball66]

I think it would be a super idea for everyone who attended the national to provide the forum with their opinions and viewpoint perspectives of how the vintage gloves, equipment, Peebles replicas and John Graham's book were perceived and receptions from the public attending. I think we probably got some excellent exposure and hopefully names were gathered for those interested or newcomers to the hobby who can be developed. The internet offers us an excellent opportunity for followups and chance to provide additional information, especially to direct them to this forum!

[vintagebrett]

The show is over and it's time to get back to reality! Wow, what a fun week - it went by super fast. I'll try and remember everything here:

Tuesday - William and I got into Baltimore around 2:30 am - that was an interesting experience. Didn't realize there were so many people out and about at that time. We grabbed a couple hours sleep and then headed down to the Convention Center around 8 am. My brother Travis met us there as we drove in and made our way to our booth. Our spot was in the back near the autograph pavilion at the end of the 2200 row. We unloaded everything from the car and then dealt with all of the issues that we were present with - missing table, display case in the wrong spot, etc. Once we had that all straightened out we started getting organized and putting stuff out. There are dealers running around trying to score items as you are unloading. Mr. Mitt gave me a call around 12:30 so I headed out to give him his pass - on my way I spotted a Goldsmith Heinie Groh with the welted fingers so I picked that up (this after promising myself I wouldn't buy anything). We had fun organizing and scouting the rest of the afternoon and even managed to sneak JD in for a bitt. We met around 7:30 for dinner at Morton's Steakhouse and had a fantastic dinner - some of our dining party were quite boisterous by the end!

Wednesday - I met John Graham at 7:30 at his hotel and we made our way over to the convention center. It was great to finally meet the legendary collector in person! We got John situated in the booth and then started selling. Throughout Wednesday we had a constant stream of shoppers, both dealers, and then the general public when they opened later in the day. Before the show opened I purchased two more gloves - a maroon color Victor Wright Ditson sewn web that will be an excellent companion to my three fingered model and a crescent pad buckle back buckle web glove. The big spenders were out in force Wednesday and we moved some of our nicer pieces (including the Groh I had bought the day before). JD, Mr. Mitt, William, my brother and I went to a great Thai restaurant for dinner and then laughed as JD marveled at the lightning on the way back to the hotel - apparently that kind of weather is a rarity in CA.

Thursday - This was a decent selling day but it was a great day for meeting new and old glove collectors. I enjoyed talking with people as they came through the booth and talking about the hobby. Bill Simmons, The Sports Guy from ESPN, stopped by and said he would be back the next day to do a little filming - that was exciting. The day capped off with a fun time at the ballpark. It was fun to sit down a a little while and enjoy the company of fellow collectors and their family members.

Friday - Not many sales at all on Friday but we did get some exposure - ESPN taped a small segment for their E60 news show and that should run in the fall. Usually I'm a dork but when they taped I was a super mega ultra dork so don't laugh too hard when it airs. Just after that the editors from Old Cardboard came by and did a short segment with us and took lot of pictures. At least they gave us a minute to prepare so the dorkiness level wasn't too high. William and I were trying to figure out what to do for dinner near the end of the show when I got a call that I had won a drawing for a gift card to Sullivan's Steakhouse. The decision on what to do got even easier and we able to join JD and his family there (as well as Joe Montana!).

Saturday - Holy cow, what a crowd on Saturday - tons of people came by. We sold a lot of cheaper gloves to people who were taken with them and hopefully hooked some new people on the hobby. We received many compliments on our booth being different than the others at the show (people get sick of seeing cards I guess). I got to meet some more glove collectors and introduce people to some helpful websites. After the show we headed over to the Babe Ruth museum (not much there at all) and then the O's game. We lucked into tickets 8 rows behind the Orioles dugout and enjoyed a pleasant evening watching he game.

Sunday - This was my second best day selling - moved a ton of stuff in the morning. We had some repeat customers from Saturday that were just getting into the hobby and they picked up some more gloves - that was a great!! There was an OK glove box I'd been looking at all week and finally got a price I was happy. Around 2pm we started packing up and getting ready for the mass exodus of dealers. At 5pm they let us drive our cars in to pack up. We quickly threw our stuff in and got the heck out of Dodge!

Overall, it was a fantastic experience and I hope to do the Chicago show next year but I need to sit back and assess for a couple of months. People who aren't collectors were definitely enthralled with the product and enjoyed putting them on their hands. We handed out lots of cards and hopefully more people will be joining the hobby and this forum. John got lots of compliments on his book and sold a good number. William had people drooling with his craftsmanship but I wish more people would have picked up a ball or glove from him. His stuff is amazing and if you haven't bought something yet you are really missing out. We gave away some gloves each day, mainly to kids around 9 or 10 years old - that made their day and hopefully they'll become interested in this hobby as they get older. I had specially made cards for the show with this site, JD's site and Joe's site, and I explained to many people seeking information that these are great resources.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by and did business with us or just chatted. Big thanks to JD, Mr. Mitt, John and William for making it a super awesome week. If we do this again hopefully more people will be able to join us!

PS - Ricky and Rob, we got some great information on mannequins for you that we'll be sharing sometime soon.

[stockbuddy]

Brett,
Thanks for the summary update. Sounded like you guys had a great time and it was productive for the hobby too. You sound like you picked up some cool gloves to boot. LOL

Someday, maybe I'll get to meet you guys in person. Chicago would be a cool one to try for.

[okdoak]

Really hoping that you'll be able to set up in Chicago next year, Brett. After seeing the pictures I have to see your booth in person now (and browse the gloves). I've never been to a National but I'm psyched to go to the next one. Great job of getting the word out on collecting gloves!

[vintagebrett]

A couple more tidbits:

-Over the course of the week we sold over 70 gloves
-People looking for endorsed gloves seemed to mainly be team specific/league specific collectors
-Not much movement or inquiry on Hall of Fame endorsed gloves
-The consensus among many glove collectors was early white gloves need to stop being cleaned
-Odd and unusual gloves did well
-Sold almost all the catchers mitts we had with the exception of the Ruth Home Run Specials
-Kids (ages 6 to 14) were very taken with the gloves and usually got their parents to come over and browse
-Next time you see William, ask him about Mr. FLB

[rdb34]

I second okdoak I hope you can set up a booth next year in Chicago. If you do let me know and I will start saving immediately. If you guys want to catch a Cubs game I suggest you all do the same

[rdb34]

Check that, I looked at the standings. It might cheaper than than I thought.

[Rickybulldog]

The consensus among many glove collectors was early white gloves need to stop being cleaned

Why is this?

[Mr. Mitt]

The consensus among many glove collectors was early white gloves need to stop being cleaned

Why is this?

At the time of the discussion, I agreed because people keep f#*@ing them up. After further reflection, however, I have to dissent. Let people continually ruin early white gloves (all gloves for that matter, with whatever battery acid they use). Only makes the ones I have that much more desirable and valuable.

[vintagebrett]

Before this derails I just wanted to clarify. We did have discussions about cleaning, restoration, etc. - it's interesting stuff to talk about amongst collectors. A vast majority of glove guys, and not just the ones in the booth - we involved many people who stopped by, thought that white gloves lose their luster if they are completely cleaned. The thought was if you are keeping it for your own collection for many, many years, go wild. However, if you plan on moving it through trade or sale, you should really think twice about it. If a majority of collectors aren't interested in a cleaned white glove, you are going to have a harder time moving it. Number9 had some good suggestions for touch up work on a white glove that wouldn't involve anything corrosive to the leather.

I know it's a dicey subject because some feel one way and some feel the other but I wanted to put it out there. I'm confident that we can discuss this in a civil manner.

[vintagebrett]

I second okdoak I hope you can set up a booth next year in Chicago. If you do let me know and I will start saving immediately. If you guys want to catch a Cubs game I suggest you all do the same

My initial inclination is to do it again next year in Chicago but I'm not going to make any decisions for a couple of months. Want to let the experience settle in and not make a quick decision based on emotion. I know there are a lot of midwest collectors and it would be great to meet you all.

As for Wrigley and the Cubs, I've had the opportunity to experience that many times and have no desire to do it again. If it means getting together with my fellow glovers I'd do it just for the comraderie.