Rawlings XFCB HOH glove Rare?

[glovefan]

Hi,
I recently acquired a Rawlings Heart of the Hide glove model XFCB. It has a Bellows web, wing tip fingers and is a fastback model. I have searched these gloves online and have come up with nothing specificly showing this glove except a little info on the glove on the Rawlings baseball history page which says the glove was made in 1968. I have only seen the brooks robinson version online. The glove is in fair condition. Is this a rare glove and how much could it be worth?
Thanks for your help,
Glovefan

[BretMan]

The catalog guide shows the XFCB first being available for retail sales in 1970. I suspect that the 1968 date from the Rawlings website might refer to the year the glove was designed or patented.

The Brooks Robinson model (later '70's models were endorsed by Tom Seaver) was not the same glove as the HOH version. The endorsed models- dubbed the XFCB17- was a less expensive version, with thinner leather and cheaper materials- selling for about half the price of the HOH version ($79.80 vs. $42.20 in the 1975 catalog).

The HOH XFCB was a top-of-the-line glove and the most, or second most, expensive glove Rawlings sold between 1970 and 1979. That makes this model much more rare and likely to sell for a premium.

A really nice XFCB17 Robinson recently sold on eBay for just over $200 (which was a little surprising) and I would have to guess that the top-line XFCB in similar condition would likely bring more than that.

[glovefan]

Thanks so much on the info. It has helped me get a lot closer to determining the value of my glove.
Thanks,
Glovefan

[softball66]

When I rebroke into slow pitch softball in Dallas in 1973, I needed a new
glove and was surprised at how much they "now(then) cost! After passing on the heart of hides, I settled on the XFCB-17 and it saw me through about 7-8 years of serious play. I got Brooksy to sign in for me at a local show and we got to talk about his gloves. It's my favorite keepsake.

[BretMan]

In the course of umpiring baseball and softball this season, I have run across three XFCB-17's still on the field and being used as gamer gloves.

One was a coach's glove and was the Tom Seaver model. The other two were girls fastpitch players using what was, no doubt, their father's old glove!