Vintage Baseball Glove Forum

I picked this one up awhile back. Wondering if anyone has any guesses as to the maker. It's stamped G195 Professional Model, Genuine Horsehide with the Monte Pearson sig. on the heel, but has no stamping as to the maker. I spent more time cleaning this one than any other glove I have. It was almost black and I honestly wonder if it had been lodged in a chimney for many years. Underneath all the grime was some very dry but decent leather and (arghh!) marker on the back and wrist strap. Still, it's well made. Any ideas?
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Great clean up Okdoak! You, Joel, and Rob Mucha are some of the best at cleaning and conditioning the leather. Unfortunately, I don't have the patience to clean leather like I do suede. By the way, what is your take on the wrist strap adjustments? Tight or loose? I know I'm setting myself here, but I'll give someone the alley-oop. I think my other pet peeve is the button not fastened to the last hole. My big paw needs some room!

Beautiful job on that one. How long did it take you and what did you use on it?
Scott

Think I'd better tiptoe around the tight/loose question, Ricky, in order to avoid an NC-17 rating. I prefer the wider adjustment also, but the wrist strap would not cooperate for the picture. You'd better add yourself to that list; I'm amazed by the results you get with the white mitts you've posted!
I used Murphy's Oil Soap and a toothbrush, which removed the top layer of grime. There were still areas that looked like they were covered in tar underneath that, so I bought one of those flexible sanding squares (150 grit) and wet sanded those spots with Murphy's again. It took a few hours of sanding and scrubbing. At least the seller was up front about it in his description. None of the old "it should clean up nicely with just a little saddle soap..."

okdoak wrote:Think I'd better tiptoe around the tight/loose question, Ricky, in order to avoid an NC-17 rating. I prefer the wider adjustment also, but the wrist strap would not cooperate for the picture.

Haha! That's great! I'm glad you like to post. I wish my friends would post more, but I think Joel is busy taking advantage of the Cash for Clunkers opportunity and buying cars.

On a serious note, I'll have to add the Murphy's Oil Soap to the shopping list. I like to experiment with new stuff for gloves. Have you tried the Fast Orange which was mentioned on this site? How does it compare to Fast Orange? Similar? Better?

Sweet clean up job. It's always nice to see the "befores" and afters".

Thanks, Ricky and smr1! I really do enjoy cleaning gloves. Wish I could muster up the same enthusiasm for housecleaning. I do have some Fast Orange but guess I prefer Murphy's esp. on 1930s and later gloves because it usually cleans the grime quickly. I like to use Leather CPR on my earlier gloves. It seems gentler and doesn't darken the leather as much as Murphy's sometimes does. I miss Joel's posts, too. I see that he wouldn't take the bait on your Profiles post, Ricky. Bet he's scouring the greater Chicago area for sewn webs as we speak.

Great job on the glove Greg! Man, I wish I have the patience you have cleaning gloves. Although, I must admit that I have actually used sandpaper to clean that nasty grime/tobacco spit stain. Next time around I'll try using Murphy's.

Mr Anderson, you know I have to take advantage of the cash for clunkers program before they pull the plug on it! Maybe I can get interest in those things. They're pretty cool!

Good to hear from you, Joel! If you do use Murphy's on one of your vintage gloves, it's probably best to use it in small amounts esp. if the glove is lighter colored. I usually dip the toothbrush in it, do a little at a time and wipe it off right away. It darkens the leather sometimes if it soaks in too much, esp. if the glove is on the dry side. I'm hoping that one of our forum members will start a Cash for Beaters program. I've got a few that I wouldn't mind trading in.