Vintage Baseball Glove Forum

Greetings all. As a new collector (relative to many of you on the Forum), I have found myself completely addicted to checking the “Glove of the Month” section on a daily basis (hat tip to Mike Tinney for keeping it going!) to see what new stuff is popping up. Also as a newbie, I love going back through the archives to see what gloves/mitts have surfaced over the years, what the corresponding dialogues were surrounding them, etc. And that got me thinking (scary, indeed). There may very well be a lot of folks in my shoes who are not aware of the great gloves that have surfaced and changed hands over the years. And the stories that go along with them. Just based on many of the conversations I have had with fellow hobbyists, the gloves/mitts have a pretty interesting history once they circulate throughout the hobby. And I believe there are a lot of cool stories that can be shared by those who acquire a glove/mitt that has already been in the hobby…in terms of why it was of interest to that person, how it fits in their collection, etc. In addition, I’d be willing to bet that many in the hobby would enjoy seeing where different gloves/mitts wind up, and maybe even chime in about when they once owned it or what-not.

So, after getting the green light from Brett, I decided to start this new “Changing Hands” thread with the hopes that many of you will chime in along the way when you add new gloves/mitts to your collections. Yes, I know there is a “new finds” thread, but from what I have seen, most of those posts are about gloves previously not known in the hobby (or as well known). I am hopeful that this supplemental thread helps expand the hobby-wide dialogue and gets us talking more as a group to learn about the collections of others, what they are interested in, etc. This is an effort geared toward the newer collectors who do not have the tremendously rich history that the veterans on here do. And perhaps this helps reinvigorate the veterans a bit to either engage by sharing some of their war stories of yesteryear, or simply provide a roadmap of potential buyers for those seeking to exit the hobby or scale down collections.

I believe there is an appetite for this kind of dialogue. Perhaps I am wrong. But nothing ventured, nothing gained…right? You, as a hobby, will ultimately answer whether or not this is of interest. I will kick it off with a post of my own about a glove that a recently acquired that helps illustrate a part of my own collecting direction.

-- Tim

The White Whale
When I first starting collecting a couple of years ago, I came out of the gate swinging pretty hard. One of the major purchases I made came from the Mr. Mitt collection. It was a glove I was losing sleep over once I learned that it was available. That might be a bit of an exaggeration, but it was one that was on my mind. I’ll bet many of you know that feeling. It wasn’t a cheap proposition by any stretch. Obviously. It was a “Jerry” glove  This bad boy has it all: White. Crescent. Buckle Web. Buckle Back. Woooooooooooooo-eeeeeeeeeee. I was in (g)love. I pulled the trigger on it and have been enjoying gazing at it in my display case ever since.

Then I learned it had a “twin”. Okay, maybe not identical twins, but a hobby “twin” nonetheless. The twin is a lefty. White. Crescent. Buckle Web. Just no Buckle Back. Regardless, I knew they belonged together. The quest to acquire began. But what I didn’t realize was also happening in the back of my mind was that I was starting to form a direction for my collection: “bookends”. While this acquisition was not the first “bookend” pairing that I put together, upon learning of the “twin” was the first time I thought about collecting “matching” lefty and righty gloves to display next to one another.

Anyway, I am very, very fortunate that JD realized that the twins belonged together, and he was gracious enough to part with it. I am sure many of you have seen these two gloves in individual pictures. But I am proud to share them here photographed side by side. I hope this first “Changing Hands” post is well received. And that some of you follow suit and share some of your stories in any way. Even if it is just a quick one-liner with a picture!

-- Tim

Greetings all. It has been a little while since my initial "Changing Hands" posts, so I thought I would put another one out there for what I hope is your enjoyment. Some of you know that I like to collect the early stuff. And as a subset within that collection, I am looking to put together "bookends" of some of the cool ones that I have. The idea is to get one lefty and one righty of the same or similar make/model. My first post reflected that with the White Buckleweb Crescent "twins". In some cases, it might mean that I get two of the same or similar glove in righties, if no lefties are out there or known about. Then the hunt will continue to get whichever hand I am missing!

I am pleased to report that just this week, I completed another "bookend set" -- this time with White Spalding Crescent gloves. Here are some pics of the two gloves together. As always, thank you to the folks in the hobby who have allowed me to acquire these gloves!

-- Tim

Okay, one more for today. Perhaps this will get everyone’s juices flowin’ ahead of National. At least for those who are going.

Some of you know the story about the lefty W&D crescent that I acquired last year. It is depicted on the cover of The Popovich's book, "Dugout Treasures: Collecting Crossroads" (see cover image below). I posted briefly on this story on January 3, 2016. You can view that post here: http://www.vintagebaseballgloveforum.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=5781&p=30995#p30995.

Anyway, as mentioned in the story referenced above, I managed to acquire the W&D "twin" right crescent, thereby reuniting the two once again. As I was writing the last "Changing Hands" post, I realized that perhaps this series of posts isn't just about newly acquired gloves, but rather it was an unintended play on words that refers to the lefty/righty "bookends" or "twins" that I am adding to my collection. "Changing Hands" get it?

Here are pics of the W&D "twins" together, as well as the cover of the book where the lefty W&D is featured.

-- Tim

Great looking gloves! Thanks for sharing
Matt

Tim,

Those are great gloves and great stories. I enjoyed reading your posts, and the enthusiasm you have for gloves is contagious. One thing I have always liked about gloves and equipment besides their overall looks is the history they provide for the game. Recently, I came back to the hobby after a very long hiatus from collecting stuff. In my absence, I spent a lot of time with my family and my wife who is now in remission from breast cancer for four years. Before that, I had sold the majority of my collection and kept two gloves. During this time I spent most of my time caring for my daughter and learning about other hobbies. Since my mind is pretty active, I tend to try to learn a lot about different things and ask many questions (some people from Georgia think I ask too many questions). I learned about football helmets and basketball equipment, fossils specifically Megalodon teeth, and old Walt Disney toys. Since I live in Southern California, Disneyland is a popular destination for our family. I had a pretty neat collection of Mickey Mouse figures but decided to sell them. Having acquired many of these things, I have now got an idea of what I want as far as those collectibles. Here is my lone survivor for my Mickey collection. A 1930s Knickerbocker example.

Now having returned to the glove hobby, I have been on a mission to acquire and collect many of the gloves I used to own or remember once seeing. It has been an incredible journey. The hard part is pacing myself. Ha! The gloves I have up for changing hands are an excellent example of how the hobby comes full circle. Many times we make trades or sell things and think that they will never come back, but that is not always the case. Two particular gloves I got last week came to mind while writing this. One is a beautiful generic full web that I got back from my friend Paul Montesano. I traded the glove to Paul 7 years ago for a mint Pie Traynor in the box that I eventually traded to Jim when I was collecting boxes. Needless to say, I had to wait awhile to get this one back. It was great to open the box and display if in my cabinet. The glove features a flawless felt liner with perfect rolled piping.

The last one was a glove I sold to Nor Cal collector Allan Wegscheneider. It was a very old Spalding full web that had a great look. The glove features a black patch and detailed Spalding button. This glove is one I was thrilled to get back!

Brothers From Another Mother

Greetings all. It has been a while, so I thought I'd pop in with another "changing hands" post. This one is actually my most recent acquisition and I am very excited to own it. This latest story is a continuation of sorts to "The White Whale" post above. Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water

This hobby is cool in so many ways. Without question it all starts with the amazing peeps and the camaraderie. Without that, we are just a bunch of weirdos with leather. Hmmmm, the WWL. I like it. But I digress. What I mean about the hobby being cool is just when you thought nothing new would pop up or come out to play, along comes a new one that you never saw before. Now, you might not get it. But sometimes those new ones lead you to others. Maybe that new one that popped up was acquired by someone and it allowed a different one to shake loose. Or a new hobbyist comes out of nowhere. Or an old hobby friend re-enters. The beauty is, you just never know. And to me, that is fun stuff!

Anyway, back to "The White Whale". If you know me or you read my prior posts (see above), you know that I like to pair up gloves in a way that some refer to as "twins" or "bookends". I was successful in doing so in the "white whale" situation, but was recently met with an unexpected twist. That's right, a third "twin". While the white whales are very similar (see pics in prior post), one is a buckleback and one is not. Well, in this case, I have been fortunate enough to add a crescent buckleweb "twin" to pair with the other. I guess now I need to find a crescent buckleweb/buckleback to pair with the other one now...ha!

I hope everyone is gearing up for a tremendous holiday season with friends and family! It sure has been an awesome 2016 in the hobby for me, and you all played a role in making that happen, so thank you!

-- Tim

The Harvard Brothers Reunite

Greetings all! I am very excited to be making my first "Changing Hands" post of 2017. For you veteran collectors, you have seen these two. In fact, there have been posts on the forum about the amazing work of William on each of these gloves. I am pleased to report that my "bookends" collection has now expanded to include the two "known" NSG Co. Harvard 501 white crescent gloves. "Known" is defined here by those that are depicted on JD's website. By no means am I claiming these are the only two in existence.

Last year, I was fortunate to have made a deal to purchase a few gloves at once that included one of these two Harvard's. And earlier this week, I was able to add the second one to the collection. As some of you know, my collection focus is the early stuff, as well as white sewn webs. So this was a daily double for me!

A big part of what makes the hobby fun for me is sharing the experience with my two boys, Chase (6) and Wyatt (5). While they are a bit young to fully appreciate the history of the gloves and such, we've started a tradition that when a new one comes in, we open the package together. And we all look at the glove, smell it, and try it on. Then we talk about it a little. And in those really cool instances, it is a glove that has been featured in one of the books out there. Such was the case with the second Harvard, which appeared in John Graham's book. The look on my boys' faces when they realize that I just got a glove that is in a book is priceless. There is some initial confusion..."So, wait...this glove we are holding is THAT glove?!?!"

This amazing hobby plays a different role for everyone. And I enjoy sharing pieces of my journey along the way, and am equally as excited to hear about your journeys. Sure, I might be jealous from time to time when an amazing glove or mitt goes into another collection , but I still love hearing about it!

Below are some pics of the two Harvard gloves together. In addition, I thought I'd share a pic of my boys with the gloves and John Graham's book that I took this morning.

-- Tim

Greetings all. I hope everyone has great plans for the long holiday weekend! It has been a while since I made a post to this section. And while this isn't a successful completion of "bookends" (been a while), I thought it was worth sharing.

Back in September 2015, JD posted the following (viewtopic.php?f=10&t=4914&p=30896&hilit=webless#p30896) and declared, "Dig this buckle back webless. I want it!"

When I let him know I added one that looks very similar to my collection and asked if he'd be willing to part with the photo, being the amazing hobby steward that he is, he agreed to let it go.

Here are a few pics of the webless buckle back from the photo, the glove I added, and the two together. Thanks again, JD, for helping me continue down the path of pairing items in my collection!