Rawlings Dale Murphy gloves on ebay

[Bubdoggy]

Educate me a little on the differences between the various models on ebay right now:

This one is open back and has the synthetic back? What else?
http://cgi.ebay.com/Rawlings-baseball-glove-Dale-Murphy-Model-RBG92-12_W0QQitemZ300259357934QQihZ020QQcategoryZ16030QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

This one is the classic fastback, about 12" or so?
http://cgi.ebay.com/Dale-Murphy-RAWLINGS-RBG-36-GLOVE-labels-tags-PERFECT_W0QQitemZ290261776097QQihZ019QQcategoryZ25128QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

This is the one. what's the difference between this one and the RBG36 (disregarding the throwing hand).
http://cgi.ebay.com/RAWLINGS-DALE-MURPHY-21106-BASEBALL-GLOVE-EXCELLENT-CON_W0QQitemZ170264490733QQihZ007QQcategoryZ16030QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Dale was my favorite Brave after Hank and before Chipper.
thanks,
Scott

[Cowboy7130]

You have summarized things pretty well, yourself, there! The synthetic back RBG92 is exactly that ... one of the early synth-back gloves. Personally, I don't like them, but that is not a bad-looking glove if you are into them. I am not sure about the 21106, but I believe it may be a type of RBG36 clone, kind of like my OR 520. It looks like a really nice glove; if I could convince my lefty son that there was, indeed, baseball before 1991 then I might get that one for him ....

The RBG36 Dale Murphy is arguably the best-seller in Rawlings history, according to some educated guessers on this forum. The late-eighties models were higher-priced, higher quality gloves than today's RBG36 models. They were supposedly all 12" models, but I have seen some advertised as 11.5" all the way up to 13" (of course, we realize the inexactness of stated glove measurements on ebay! ) Basically, the RBG36 was a solid, inexpensive baseball/softball glove for the weekend warriors out there. They held up well and have remained popular for close to three decades now. In fact, some of the ballplayers on this forum have one in their batbags right now as a backup, and some of them use them as gamers!

The Murph was my fave Brave, too. He was a better-than-most, hard-working ballplayer who came to the field every day ready to do his best. He's on my "Cooperstown-Schmooperstown" Hall of Fame list. And it is my impression that he was and is a decent guy.

I once saw a Dale Murphy endorsed Trap-Eze glove ... I missed out on that one, but if I ever see it on ebay again (and I do check daily!)... just wait .... I'm gonna be a'gettin' me a glove!

[Bubdoggy]

Thanks, I was especially wondering if the 21106 is a higher/lower quality glove than the RBG36. There would have to be some subtle difference perhaps.

Docglove - any words on it?

One of the goofy things I am semi-collecting are Braves endorsed gloves in the southpaw version. My first glove was a MacGregor Hank Aaron. A Murphy trap would be really cool.

[BretMan]

I believe that the 21106- as well as the OR520- are identical gloves to the RBG36. The different model numbers were stamped on gloves sold through various retail outlets, such as JC Penneys or K-Mart, and thus carried different model numbers than those sold directly through the Rawlings catalogs.

The RBG92 was just an inexpensive glove sold during the same years that Rawlings was selling the RGB36. It wasn't at all uncommon for glovemakers to offer more than one glove endorsed by a popular player in any given year. The Mantle-endorsed gloves are a perfect example. Rawlings would typically offer four or five Mantle models in the same season, ranging in quality from the most inexpensive kid-sized gloves to top-of-the-line personal models suitable for professional play.

The RBG36 first appeared in the Rawlings catalogs in 1980, when it carried the endorsement of Reggie Jackson. That was the year that Rawlings began using the "RBG" designation on most all of their mid-priced imported gloves. While the model numbers changed, these gloves were virtually identical to many of the models sold during the 70's that carried the "GJF" model number prefix.

Rawlings kept the RBG36 model number through the years and, I believe, you can still find that model number today, endorsed by Ken Griffey. By virtue of the fact that this same model number has been used for nearly 30 years, it is probably safe to say that the RBG36 has been their best selling glove.

Another endorser who appeared on the RBG36, besides Jackson and Murpy and Griffey, was Dave Winfield. Additionally, Rawlings made a "Signature Edition" of gloves identical to the RBG36, dubbed the RSE36, which carried endorsements of popular 80's players such as Cal Ripken and Tony Gwynn.

I know that Cowboy is our resident Dale Murphy glove enhusiast, but add me to the list of guys who has used these gloves and still carries one as a back-up. I purchased a RSE36 Cal Ripken glove for my daughter in the mid-90's, but she loved her old glove and I wound up using the new one. It served me well for over a decade of steady use.

While the earlier models were decent mid-priced gloves, the ones you find today have been cheapened down and sell at bargain basement prices. I have an early 90's Griffey model and it is sturdy, with thick leather and nice laces. The RBG36's sold in recent years don't even come close to the same quality.

[Bubdoggy]

Thanks, Bret. That's a good summary. I have seen the newer Ken Griffey RBG36s and, you're right, it looks like the only thing in common with the earlier versions is the model number stamped on the pinky.