Vintage Baseball Glove Forum

Yesterday my brother and I traveled into NYC to attend MLB's All-Star Fan Fest. This event is definitely structured for kids as there are many interactive activities for them to participate in. The lines were very long but if you were willing to spend $300 at the MLB store or purchase items from sponsors (XM Radio subscription) you could get a pass to cut to the front of the lines. Gotta love that message MLB sends out.

Had the change to meet longtime glove associate Jim Daniel (ebbets55) and his young son Parker, who traveled all the way from CA to attend the Home Run Derby. It was really great to spend some time chatting gloves and other things JD. Hope your trip to the Home Run Derby was smooth and you had a blast!

The highlight of the Fan-Fest for me was seeing the Rawlings reproduction gloves that our own docglove has been working on the past couple months. Unfortunately they had them in cases behind the table so they weren't easy to see. I did peek behind the case because I wanted to see the tag on the PM1 and it was a vintage Playmaker tag! I wonder if they had to make new ones of if they had some around. The models that were on display were a Playmaker PM1, XPG 6, TG12 and RL1. There was no HH except for Mickey Mantle's, which was on display. Which brings me to my final question - the tag on the HH that Mantle used to make his catch in the 1956 World Series is Black and Yellow. I thought these tags were for gloves made for the 1958 season. Anybody have insight into this?

Anyway, here are some pictures - not very good but hope they give you an idea of what the gloves look like.

holy moses, that xpg6 "mantle" rolled lace is unbelievable. was it USA stamped and where they for sale pray tell?

hot dog

I'm pretty sure they were stamped Made in the USA but I don't remember. I don't think they were for sale yet. They did have leather chair made to look like a glove that was $3000.

Good Grief! I am beset by envy! I haven't felt this jealous of someone since Molly Goode wound up kissing David Varner at the New Year's Eve party in junior high instead of kissing me!

I love that TG12, and of course the XPG6 is just dang awesome!

i just had to change my drool bucket

Was a little disapointed with the Rawlings display. And to be honest the guys working there didn't seem like they wanted to be bothered talking about gloves they seemed more interestd in selling the baseball's or Pro batting helmets. I would have loved to have Bob there to talk to about gloves he seems to have a real passion/knowlege like many of the members here on the site. For the most part I thought the Fanfest was very over rated.

The TG12 is very nice!

For those of you old enough to remember: I just had a Jimmy Carter moment - I lusted in my heart.

remember.............. shoot I have a Pro BF autographed from him his family game was softball I made gloves for his whole crew...

slow answer on Mantle label, sorry about that. I'm sure then as it is now that labels in retail always lag a couple of seasons behind being used in the Pro's It seems the Pro are still young boys to some extent and they wish to be able to tell that thier glove is not off the shelf. All though I'm not aware of any deaths from this but they are really afraid their gloves being retail and the harm it could cause their career being seen with one.

Bob

docglov wrote:remember.............. shoot I have a Pro BF autographed from him his family game was softball I made gloves for his whole crew...

hey doc, did you make his whole family (all 30 of them?) proBF's or various models? Be cool if you could list a few of them. what model did rosalyn have? haha

h2o-x wrote:The TG12 is very nice!

Yep. Nicer than my TG12...



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FYI
http://www.mearsonline.com/news/newsDetail.asp?id=515

My original post was not meant in anyway to suggest the Mantle glove wasn't what the sign said it was. I was curious to the origin of the black and gold tag because everything I had heard was that it was made for the 60th anniversary in 1958.

The pictures posted in the article are fun to look at and try to guess what model gloves the players are using. I really like the Mantle 1957 World Series picture because I had never seen a player with a Rawlings black/gold tag. Neat!

Now if I could only find a photo of a Major League Player with a Sonnett glove!

We covered this mantle game used glove in a Mantle story in our April/May 2005 Glove Collector Newsletter in an article that I thought treated the glove and its owner very fairly. I am for one, convinced that it is a Mickey Mantle game used glove, partly because of the other gamer gloves that showed up in this "Baxter Springs" find, and the fact that the new owner Dennis Esken had carefully researched the glove, talking among others with Rollie Latina, the head glove person at Rawlings at the time this glove was used. Dennis allowed that Rollie told him it might have been a bit oversized than other HHs and that lacing, etc. was strengthened.
Dennis told me when I talked to him at that time that he thought maybe this was the glove that Mantle used in the World Series. He did proceed along that line and I'm sure has concrete evidence, including photo comparison, which I heard he had that shows this glove was indeed the one that Mantle used in that key game.
We've since had opinions from Bob C. that is feasible that Mantle might have gotten a later glove earlier as the major leaguers have done in the past, i.e. the trapeze model, before the public could buy one.
Another opinion, just put forward, by annother Rawlings researcher, Scott Calev, is that this 1958 label could have been put on this glove at a later time, hence the patch (which might been placed on during a repair job on the glove an earlier glove if that's the case) and there are certain indications that this might have happened, if Mantle returned the glove for a refurbishing.
All we can do is look at what evidence available and I don't think Dennis would have proceeded forward without backing up the glove as a '56 glove so let's be fair to him without jumping to conclusions. Even if Mantle or Rollie were alive they may not remember any details of this glove as it wasn't that important to either one except as their jobs.
My story on this glove is available to anyone who wishes a photocopy because it treats the most difficult issue facing us, the fact of vetting Major League player game use of gloves and to a lesser degree bats, especially as we go back further in time.
Fairness has been a doctrine of this forum and I propose we treat Dennis fairly and with respect in regards to his glove.

FYI
http://www.mearsonline.com/news/newsDetail.asp?id=516

Although most of don't deal with game used gloves here I find this an very detailed approach to determining a date for a glove. There is so many little things that it is important to consider all of them. Plus, we have tons of niche collectors here who are knowledgeable about little changes that could be helpful if necessary.

I promise to help on the the first Sonnett glove purported to be used by a MLB player!