Vintage Baseball Glove Forum

Just figured that since we got home from the show yesterday, I'd start the inevitable National Pick Ups thread. So, here goes...

First up is the Winchester catchers mitt that my Dad needed to round out his Winchester collection of gloves/mitts...its the perfect example to complement what he already has going on with that segment of the collection.

http://www.dugouttreasures.com

Here is a Spalding basemitt that I had to have when I saw it and got the opportunity to pick it up...large, soft, supple, with great markings, patch, and buckle back. I have not yet even cleaned it up and am really looking forward to seeing how it turns out.

OK, so I know that these are not gloves/mitts, but we did get them at the show and, to us, they are just as interesting and desirable. In fact, if anyone has baseballs like these, please feel free to reach out to us as we'd be happy to part with some gloves/mitts to pick 'em up.

http://www.dugouttreasures.com

We do have to say that we missed out on one item that may haunt us for a bit....a Wm. Read and Sons salesman sample baseball w/ box (seal present). The 1/2 baseball (cut in half to show the interior of the ball) was tightly stitched with blue laces...EARLY...and, well, it was Wm. Read and Sons! We saw it twice, thought about it and talked about it, but, regrettably, didn't see it on our third go-around. Oh, well...such is a collectors life.

Those are two very nice mitts. Was there a lot of high quality gloves at the National? Also, how were the prices? I don't know if the show will ever get back to Anaheim so I can see the stuff in person.

Thanks...we are really pleased with the mitts and I can't wait to get new pics of the basemitt up on here tomorrow...it cleaned up far better than my expectations.

We thought that the overall selection and quality of vintage equipment was quite high and were happy to see and hear that guys were moving a lot of their inventory over the first few days of the show...a good sign for the hobby which was so very well represented by our friends Brett, William, Corey, and Matt to name a few.

The prices were not cheap, but reasonable in our opinions. As many of you may know, we really do stay within a budget and do not have abundant resources to throw at our collection. So, we shopped around for a while before setting on minds on certain pieces, thankful that they were still available when we 'pulled the trigger' three days into the convention. That being said, the item I wanted most at the show was a simply painted trophy bat dated to 1867 which was well beyond my means to purchase. Conversely, the balls that we picked up were exactly what my brother and Dad had their sights set on from day one.

I've only ever been to two National's...2010 and 2012...both in Baltimore. Given our very positive experiences I do hope to travel to others in the future and would encourage anyone whose never been to make the effort and get to one.

I"ll get the new pics of the Spalding mitt posted tomorrow along with a cute pic of what my 4 year old son picked up as his first purchases. Sure do hope to see some more of what everyone else got before too long.

JP
www.dugouttreasures.com

Here are my pickups:

1) Stunning vintage Duke pennant
2) Horace Partidge and Sonnett catalog
3) Tober dozen baseball box
4) 4 gloves - Three OK's and a Sonnett

Finally had a chance to clean up the basemitt I picked up at the show...

For his very first show, my little guy didn't do too bad. Amongst a few other things to include some rubber sharks from the National Aquarium, here is what my 4 year old son came home with from the National...

It's official, Jonathan, you infected him! Great to see you guys at the show. Glad everyone had fun, especially Jonathan Jr. He's the future of the hobby. No pressure