Unusual Early Baseball Glove on eBay

[Mr. Mitt]

I hate outing auctions before they're over, but this one may end up hurting someone if it's not discussed as bidding begins to intensify. The auction in question is;

http://www.ebay.com/itm/261007291713?ss ... _500wt_922

Very cool mitt, but is is baseball? Looks too handballish to me. A few others who's opinions I highly value also believe it is not related to baseball. Believe me, I'd love for someone to definitively prove it is a baseball mitt by producing a sporting goods catalog advertising its intended purpose, but until then, the question remains because handball GLOVES have surfaced, not handball MITTS. I'd like to hear other opinions.

Additionally, I questioned the seller and his answer alludes to him knowing it's not a baseball mitt. He insists on advertising as such anyway. Here is the response;

"It's a grey area I know, all the hand ball gloves I saw had round padding in the middle and were smaller. I thought I would let the bidders decide and if it's not a baseball glove they could return it if they wanted.
Thanks,
C.1901"

Interestingly, the auction states that returns are not accepted despite his note.

[deebro041]

I totally agree with you! I thought it was a handball glove and i could not believe the bidding on it.
Dan

[vintagebrett]

My initial thought was a practice mitt for some sort of sparring game - either boxing or fencing. I'm leaning more towards boxing at the moment. It's a neat looking item and wish it was baseball although the configuration of the front doesn't look like it would help/be practical in catching a ball. If I just saw the back, I would think baseball. As for handball, it seems a bit large for that but the front design is similar to other handball gloves we've seen. I looked through the catalogs I have from 1890 to 1910 and don't see anything that matches up. If you could find the patent for the stitched configuration of the front that would be a big help in determining what it is.

[Number9]

The back looks very similar to a handball glove, for sure. I have a photo of a Spalding handball glove, which isn't a match, but I know I've seen Ken-Wel handball gloves too. Wish I saved the image.

My opinion is that it's a handball mitt, but I can see it being an early focus pad for boxing. I wouldn't want to be the one wearing it though.

[bing]

its a bread makers mitt.

[murphusa]

I wonder if it just might be a mitt used in a steel mill

[vintagebrett]

It's entirely possible it's not sports related at all. We are all focused on sports that we might be trying to pigeonhole it without taking other venues into consideration. It's definitely an interesting piece to research if you have the time.

[softball66]

We're used to seeing handball gloves/ mitts with circular sewn palms. This doesn't fit that pattern. Two points to consider.
1. When we discover handball type gloves we find mostly that they fit the right hand, because most players were/are right handed.
2. If you're going to "catch" a ball with this mitt, good luck. It's flat and doesn't lend itself to having a pocket.
It's also ventilated in the back which we've seen on some handball gloves. The "9" stamping may lead us to a clue. Most of the handball gloves, I believe, are listed in the fall and winter catalogs for the manufacturers.
The possibility is also opened up that this might be used for something other than a sport.

[murphusa]

JD posted this at net 54

[ScottWNJ]

It's at $700 with 5 minutes to go. Someone is going to be very unhappy.

[murphusa]

Why would that be. You would think someone would do a little homework before spending $800 on something

[jpop43]

Given all the discussion here and on Net54, particularly's JD's postings, anybody wondering if the "proud" new owner is gonna come out and share his/her find with the hobby community? We've all made mistakes over time, but most happened when this great thing called the internet wasn't yet the "go-to" resource it has become.

On the other hand, maybe this was a SERIOUS hand ball collector...in that case, CONGRATS!

[deebro041]

There is another pair up for sale right now with 4 hours to go. The bidding isn't as high as the last time yet, i hope it doesn't go much higher for the buyer's sake.
Dan