USN gloves....???

[Bravosin99]

Today I came across a very nice, late 1930's-40's Wilson basemans glove in an antique store...The glove was stamped USN (United States Navy)....The back strap was not a button it tied on one side and the glove had a large re-enforced thumb...It was the "oven mit style" basemans glove as most people describe it...The glove is huge and was in amazing condition and had a price tag of $45.00...

What I am getting at is I did not purchase the glove because in my head something was telling me it was a softball glove...The condition was great inside and out and I am pretty sure all of the original stampings would have come out with a good cleaning....There were stampings all over the glove just couldn't make them out with the little dust and soiling on the leather...I did not want to get it home and clean it and have the word softball come out on the glove ...

What I was wondering is, are most of the USN stamped gloves usually softball models??? Should I have purchased this glove??

[crackofthebat]

I have a number of USN stamped first base mitts that are baseball gloves and not softball gloves. I think if they were made for softball they would be stamped as such.

[softball66]

What we need to remember is that adult baseball and softball gloves were innerchangeable during the period of World War II. I played softball with a glove made for baseball into the 1950s. So the great majority of gloves made for servicemen were adult baseball gloves with just a smattering of those designed for softball.
True, softball type gloves with external padding on the palms or sewn palms indicated they were softball in the 1930s and into the 1940s-50s and marked that way.

[Bravosin99]

Joe-

Thanks for the info. I knew most softball gloves had the extra padding and are usually stamped softball. This one didn't have any extra padding and like I mentioned all the stampings were visible just not legible because of the light dust and soiling on the glove. It was driving me crazy that I couldn't clean the glove while I was there to make out what they all said lol.

Maybe I passed on a good old baseball glove. Hopefully it will be there next time I decide to return. Thanks again for all the info.

[Bravosin99]

This is EXACTLY what the glove I saw yesterday looks like...Does the ST in the model number mean its softball?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Wilson-Model-563XST ... dZViewItem

[ebbets55]

Josh,

That doesn't look like a softball mitt to me and I definitely do not think ST stands for softball. Maybe Fred can shed some more light on that one. I'd pay $50 for a mitt like that any day of the week.

Also, I think softball gloves get a pretty bad rap. Although I don't go too far out of my way to get them, I would never turn one down if I liked it, especially if the price was right. Most people write off softball gloves from the beginning and won't even give them a second look. They are still gloves, they can still feel good and they can still catch a ball. I have had some very cool softball gloves in the past. Dave C. has some great softball models. If you like it, get it. I wouldn't ignore it simply because it may be a softball model (but it isn't). Just don't spend a ton of money on them. That's my two cents.

JD

[stockbuddy]

Hi Josh, That looks like a baseball to me too, but I agree with JD. if you like it, dust it off and give the old glove some respect be it softball or baseball. But to me the pic you have seems like a baseball mitt although I am not a mitt guy. LOL

JD, I love the display pics you added to your website of Paul M.'s glove collection. He has wonderful old timer gloves and just beautiful displays. If I recall correctly, Paul is quite the wood craftsman and he made the displays himself. He has some great displays. Glad he sent you pics.

Dave

[crackofthebat]

I have a Wilson 563XST with U.S. stamped on the heel. I have always considered it a baseball mitt and not a softball mitt, but like Joe said, it may have been used for baseball and softball. Brett has a picture of it in our archives - maybe he can post a picture of it when he returns from New York City. I don't think this one has ever been used.

[Bravosin99]

Thanks for all the input guys...Guess I should have purchased the glove ...Would help if I had a bigger cash flow, lol, but Im just a broke college kid at this point...

On another note Dave, we have a great old softball glove you might be interested in....It is prolly a 20's-30's buckle back basemans glove....Its a white glove and has two black crescents, one going along the bottom and another small one towards the top...Ill get pics of it up on this thread when I go home next weekend....

Thanks again guys.....Josh

[stockbuddy]

Hey Josh, Look forward to seeing the old glove. Cool.

Dave