Vintage Baseball Glove Forum

I would like to make an observation. You guys seem to have your own little insiders club you call a "forum". You call each other by first name. The rest of us have no idea who you are (my forum ID includes my eBay ID and my first name---how about we all do that?). You tell insider jokes the rest of us are not privy to. You guys obviously share more with each other outside of the "forum" (so what's the need for the forum?). Lately, a majority of conversation revolves around a new member wanting to know the value of a crappy glove they just picked up or a new caption for a cute picture (I must say, some of the entries are quite funny). I asked one question recently and never received a response. It was a very simple question that any number of you could have answered but chose not to.

Instead of taking this forum's and it's members' inventory, how about taking yours first? You've been a member since 2007. How often have you taken the time to answer a novice collector or new member's question about a glove they found?

I think the reason many of us use each other's first name or tell jokes is that we are a small group and a lot of us have met each other at some point in time. We do have a lot of registered users and we've had had many threads discussing why others don't post - it's just the nature of the beast.

I think the reason no one answered your question is because we rely on Joe's source book, which you reference in your post. If the answers not in there, I'm not sure how many of us have Nokona catalogs lying around. I know our members try to answer questions to help out any poster - whether it be a newbie or someone's who's been around a while.

The conversations ebb and flow on gloves here, just like with any forum. Usually interesting gloves from eBay or auction houses are a good discussion topic. mikesglove posts excellent discussion topics on glove patents and design.

I'm sorry if you feel offended - that is not the intent at all. As I said, we are a small group and we've grown comfortable with each other. We can do a thread where people introduce themselves - I know we've done it in the past but it's always fun to do.

They make us sit in a circle and we are only allowed to use first names

Hi John, that's my fault for not answering your post question about the Cub. I may have missed it or didn't know about the "C" model number. I'll try to do this from memory. Nocona put on a Christmas promotion in the early 1950s (and there's a very cute ad, illustration about a little dog waking up a kid in bed with a new glove) with the "Cub" "Squirt" etc. that were youth size c. mitts, glloves and theiry "Latch" the squirt it was called. I'll be glad to send you a photo copy of the ad. My apologies.
My mistako!
Joe

My son and I are guilty of sitting on the sidelines, mostly because we don't have a lot of expertise to offer. We've posted a few times and shared a few photos. I've asked questions on this and the "modern" forum that have not been answered. We're cool with that. It can understand the frustration. Let's face it, there aren't many places to get answers about old leather. I've found contacting members through PM's is a better way to get answers.

We've traded emails with Brett, Joe, Wake, Eddie (No-Lite-Toe), Cowboy, and others. We are always learning about the hobby by checking in to this (and the modern) forum everyday to see what others are discussing. Honestly, the bulk of our collection is from the late 50's - mid 70's. Most discussions here have nothing to do with my current interests, but yet, we read and learn. Thanks to all who contribute.

I appreciate all of your responses---especially "lileague". My tone was not very positive. For that, I apologize. In fact, I wish I had never sent the message. It was late (I was writing up glove descriptions) and I should have slept on it. I do enjoy the forum and would love to meet some of you sometime. I will try to be a more active Forum member in the future. Thanks Joe for the info.

John I'm glad you reposted and hope you are a regular contributor, and lileague thanks for chipping in as well. I didn't see the question at the time because I don't go into that section as often as I probably should, but I think one of the reasons for the frustration is that although it seemed like a pretty simple question it was actually quite advanced. I consider myself a pretty advanced Nokona collector but had no clue as to the origin. I found Joe's answer quite informative.

Even if I had seen the question I don't know that I would have chimed in with "I have no idea," which in retrospect may have added some value. I think the guys are pretty timely at answering the quick ones but some of the harder ones just take the right person to see it, or research it, and we all have other priorities in our life at one time or another. Many of the guys also get a pretty constant stream of questions through their individual sites, which the forum has helped reduce (though most of us like helping with what we know).

I know others are looking in so to those I add the forum is what we all make of it. There aren't a lot of restrictions for posting new threads and I can tell you that the regular guys really appreciate others chipping in and fresh perspectives. We are all still learning new things as glove collecting is not as mature as some other collectibles (coins, stamps, cards, etc) so don't be afraid to put in your two cents. Hopefully it'll start a debate which we all learn from.

For those of you who have our Nokona History, the cute late '40s ad with the Cubs gloves in it, is on page 36 of the book. For interested parties, I can make some sepia prints of the original. Next page has a nostalgia shot of Nokona Christmas glove display from the 1950s.
Joe

I agree that sometimes a seemingly simple question can be difficult to answer. The great thing about that forum is that each person has their little niche of knowledge and can contribute it when called upon.

The more people the post the better. It's a difficult thing to get people to jump in the deep end and just go. Come on in, the waters fine!