Vintage Baseball Glove Forum

Not to try and make a big stink, but I am passing on the Reach Ruth model that sold for around $900 this week. I was looking at this glove for quite awhile last night. Maybe I am overly paranoid now, but the signature just didn’t look right. I will simply leave it at that. There were other great gloves to choose from, so here we go (better late than never)…

Listed in the 1945 Reach, Wright, & Ditson, the 245L Red Rolfe model was the best of the Reach line. Just looking at this glove could have told you that though. The rolled leather piping and what looks to be a super clean lining are a couple of highlights of this glove, not to mention the buttery smooth appearance of the leather. I think Reach gloves are super and probably deserve more than they typically earn. This one is a super steal at just $114 on 2 bids.



A solid Wright & Ditson crescent padded mitt earned $273 on 8 bids. The glove looks to be in good condition and features a good early W&D patch on the back of the glove. There are a couple of issues with the mitt – flaking, broken buckle and modest ink, but overall this is a good vintage glove. Now, looking at this glove I would have called it a catcher’s mitt at first glance, but a long ago thread on the forum has put some doubt in my head. The glove doesn’t look super thick, so I think it is a baseman’s mitt. Can someone out there tell us what we’ve got here…A nice piece of history for $273 on 8 bids.



Next to the Ken Wel Vance, I think my favorite glove of all time is the Rawlings Pepper Martin. I think the v notch, the simple web, and color of the leather are what do it for me. The glove was produced in the late 30s and wasn’t a particularly high end model, but I love the look of this glove. The seller sums the glove up telling us that we could still play ball with the glove…respectfully, I leave that to my SM6, and the Martin would go on the shelf. $221 on 3 bids.



A mint Wilson 1680 Baseball Glove honors the career of the Splendid Splinter (Splinter??? – I’ve never understood that). What a catch this glove would be for any glove/Williams fan out there. Not a spot on it, plenty of great stampings and a mint black Wilson patch. $218 on 15 bids…maybe the seller should have claimed it had been buried in Yankee Stadium for 40 years.



The bargain of the week, for the second time in 2 months is a Heinie Manush model, this one selling for $62 on 7 bids. I don’t think this one is as nice as the last one sold for about the same price. The seller mentions the number “220” appearing on the web, but no manufacturer. It looks like a D&M to me, anyone with ideas out there? This week’s model is the first pic below, the one sold in late March (for $68) is below that.

The Ruth signature was interesting - when I first saw that glove I thought it was bogus because I'd not come across stampings that big. Of course I flipped right to JD's site to see if there was anything comparable - there was one that was similar but not exactly the same
http://www.baseballglovecollector.com/gallery/index.php?album=babe-ruth&image=Babe+Ruth+Reach+RF2+Re+Inked+Front+Jerry.jpg
Maybe some of the Ruth collectors here can shed some more light.

That W&D glove is great - I just had picked one up for my dad and then this one popped up. Everything in threes, right? Should be another one for sale soon. haha.

I think the Manush glove may be a Marathon - I have one like that for sale and it was made by Marathon - they seem to be very similar.

And what's with all the Pepper Martin gloves on eBay lately! And they are all different too - neat!

See, I knew our Ruth experts would help out - thanks Jerry!

I haven't received the Red Rolfe yet but I'm looking forward to it. It just looked nice to me. Reach is by far my favorite manufacturer and I was drawn to it for some reason.

I picked up the W&D crescent basemitt solely for the tag as I didn't have that tag. Everything else about the mitt is a bonus. I absolutely love it. The lining is super smooth and flawless. The seller mentioned some pencil marks, not ink, in his listing but I can't see it to save my life. The only real flaw is the tear on the top of the back. I'm very pleased with it.

JD

Thanks for the pics of the Ruth gloves. I think the "t" crossing the "h" in Ruth was what confused me...

JD, congrats on the gloves, a couple of really great gloves there.

crackofthebat wanted me to post his W&D after he relaced it and had the crescent pad resewn since it was shifting.

Fred, can you make mine look like that. Outstanding!

Actually, it was your mitt that inspired me to get this one after Brett showed me the pics.

JD

As a youth and young man, Ted Williams was extremely tall and skinny. The legend is that the manager of one of his early professional teams complained that the scouts had not sent him a ballplayer, they had sent him some "splinter" of a kid. Then, Williams stepped into his rightful domain, the batter's box, and baseballs began to leave the yard. The manager muttered under his breath, "But oh, what a splendid splinter!" Someone at the cage heard it, the nickname stuck, and the rest is history.

I cannot remember where I read this.