Rawlings DB45

[mas]

I bought a glove lot off Ebay and included in the lot was a Rawlings DB45 catcher's mitt. Can anyone tell me anything about this model?

In searching the internet, I have found Elston Howard endorsed DB45 mitts, but this one has no endorsement. It looks like the pictures of the Elston Howard mitts I have found online.

The piping is not leather, but is a coated cloth. The rest of the leather is great. The web lacing appears to have been retied. Rivets on the web are rusty.

Any help is appreciated.

[BretMan]

This is one of those patterns that Rawlings used for quite a few years and it carried several different endorsements. The "DB" pattern first pops up in the 1959 Rawlings catalog and various different versions were sold right up into the early 1980's. Most (all?) of the "DB" models I've seen have the "Double Break" palm hinges, with one hinge in the palm and one at the base of the thumb.

As with many popular patters, Rawlings would produce several models each year at varying price points. The higher-end mitts would be made with the best leathers and materials and be suitable for professional play, while the lower-end mitts, generally aimed at the youth market, would use cheaper materials (like vinyl coated cloth trim) and be less durable.

The DB7 was the top-of-the-line version. Other variations include the DB15, DB25, DB35 and DB45. These mitts carried endorsements of many popular catcher's of the day, including Elston Howard, Tim MacCarver, Johnny Bench, Ray Fosse and Steve Yeager. The DB45 was the least expensive model in the 'DB" series. As a comparison, in 1970 the DB7 sold for about $50 and was the second most expensive mitt in the Rawlings line-up. The DB45 sold for about $15 and they sold only two mitts less expensive than that.

What is curious is that your mitt does not carry an endorsement. All of the DB45 models listed in the Rawlings catalogs carried one endorsement or the other, but it wasn't unusual for them to produce different versions of gloves that weren't in the catalog. The DB45 first pops up in the 1962 catalog, bearing the endorsement of Earl Battey. The mitt carried the name of Dick Bertell in 1963-64. Elston Howard endorsed the 1965-68 mitts. In 1969-70 it was Curt Belfary. Howard's endorsement came back on the 1971 mitt and that was apparently the last year a DB45 model was offered.

Either Rawlings offered an unendorsed version of this mitt at some point, or perhaps the endorsement on your mitt has faded. Either way, you could put a "ballpark" date on this one from between 1962-1971, the years that Rawlings used the DB45 model number.