Vintage Baseball Glove Forum

After looking for 10 years I finally found the shot of Honus Wagner's early game-used glove which had a hole cut out of the pocket but reinforced hand-sewn to maintain the integrity of the leather. If you
will remember, Babe Ruth chose the Wagner model as his own when he visited the Draper Maynard plant. Ruth, it is assumed , was a big admirer of Wagner evidently because when Ruth's gamer was sold in the famous Barry Halper auction, his glove had a hole cut out of the palm. This practice hole cutting and "feeling the ball" was continued through infielders like bobby Wallace, Leo Durocher and I think even Eddie Miller. Dick Bartell might have been another. If anyone is interested in seeing a photocopy of this Wagner gamer photo in the "Pittsburgh Pirate collection" and was featured on the back of a Becketts Magazine, please drop me an email at glovecollector@mac.com

I came across a glove that Joe mentions in his post.
Walter Stall patented this glove in 1906 possibly in response to ball players modification of their gloves. On page 133 of the Glove Catalog Source Book, Stall & Dean models 0367 & 0368 show an HC & H designation. This refers to a hole through to the palm (model H) or a covered hole with padding removed but outside leather intact (model HC).

Here is a picture of a player modified glove similar to the glove Joe mentions