Vintage Baseball Glove Forum

I am putting together a Rawlings baseball glove commodity chain for an Econ class. Doc is on a cruise for the week, so I was hoping some other members might be able to help me out with some basic Rawlings background.


1. When did Rawlings shift production to the Phillipines?


2. When did Rawlings stop putting metal eyelets in the heal of the glove?

3. Are tanners laces from Tennessee?

4. Does Heart of the Hide leather come from Horween?

5. The date code on my Pro1mtc reads BBEH? When and where do you think it was produced?


Answers and any additional observations would be greatly appreciated. When I pitched the idea of a Rawlings commodity chain to my professor he was all for it!

Thank you in advance

1. Between 1999 and 2001.
2. 2001 (Some of the last metal eyelet Rawlings cam from the "TL" series Eastbay carried)
3. Not sure
4. HOH leather does come from Horween, but not all of it. Anything with a "J" in the model number is not. That is Japan HOH, it is a little bit softer than traditional HOH. The "oxblood," "dual core," and maybe the dry black are other examples of non Horween. Not sure what tannery they come from, but it's definately not Horween. All tan Horween HOH is still the stiffest. Black Horween is a little softer just because of the dye. Omar Vizquel said in an interview he only used tan gloves because they form and shape better because they dont have dye.
5. If it is from Don Morton, then it's a Philippines glove. As far as I know right now, for HOH/ Pro Pref its Philippines unless it comes from Doc in the USA.

For an Econ class, huh? I take it you're at the U? I go to Mac.

3. Tanners lace is from Tennessee Tanning, a Rawlings owned company.

1. 1998, or earlier, to 2000

http://www.vintagebaseballgloveforum.co ... php?t=2750

sweet. thanks for the responses guys. HRK, yea I'm at the U. do you play ball at Mac?

Yeah, we should be towards the top of the MIAC this year. Do you play at the U?

Glovin said "ok...so according to ryan farrar from rawlings...the black HOH gloves are still from Horween...just not the oxblood hoh's...also, the hoh dual core ones are from horween as well...so i guess the difference between the HOH's now and the ones "back in the day" is that the ones now are injected with oil...which leads me to question...if they're still from the same company...who says the new oil injected horween leather won't last as long as the old ones?"

Aren't tan gloves dyed as well...that's not the natural color of leather I don't believe.

Hrking4675 wrote:Yeah, we should be towards the top of the MIAC this year. Do you play at the U?

I don't play at the U. You guys must be psyched to play at that beautiful new field.

Lugnut wrote:so i guess the difference between the HOH's now and the ones "back in the day" is that the ones now are injected with oil...which leads me to question...if they're still from the same company...who says the new oil injected horween leather won't last as long as the old ones?"

Oil injected leather will lose its shape faster than the dry leather because it was softer to start with. The oiled leather is less prone to tearing at the finger crotches and tearing in general because there is usually more stretch in the oiled leather than the dry leather.

Lugnut wrote:Aren't tan gloves dyed as well...that's not the natural color of leather I don't believe.

The tan leather is dyed you are correct. I am sure Horween’s black leather being softer has something to do with the color. Often changing the leather color does alter the feel of the leather for instance Tanners tan lace is much firmer than any other color they offer.
That is not to say that every company’s black leather is softer than the traditional tan color, I have seen black hides that would stand up by themselves they were so firm.

bs wrote: The oiled leather is less prone to tearing at the finger crotches and tearing in general because there is usually more stretch in the oiled leather than the dry leather.

of the serveral code 5 Horween USA HOH's and Ansonia USA A2000's that i've tracked on EBAY, it seems that there is an inordinate amount of A2000's with the dreaded finger crotch tear as opposed to the HOH's.

would this indicate that it's more about how the leather is tanned v. how much oil is injected?

just thinking aloud

Thanks everyone for the responses.

The bone dry commodity chain that I am putting together, with absolutely no detail is this.

Hide, and Laces come from the US. -> They are then shipped to the phillipines for production -> The gloves are then sent back to the US for sale.

What would really help me out is if anyone knows if any other materials are added to the gloves in the Phillipines. Also if anyone knows the working conditions at the Rawlings factory in the Phillipines that would also be helpful.

bs wrote:

Lugnut wrote:so i guess the difference between the HOH's now and the ones "back in the day" is that the ones now are injected with oil...which leads me to question...if they're still from the same company...who says the new oil injected horween leather won't last as long as the old ones?"

Oil injected leather will lose its shape faster than the dry leather because it was softer to start with. The oiled leather is less prone to tearing at the finger crotches and tearing in general because there is usually more stretch in the oiled leather than the dry leather.

Lugnut wrote:Aren't tan gloves dyed as well...that's not the natural color of leather I don't believe.

The tan leather is dyed you are correct. I am sure Horween’s black leather being softer has something to do with the color. Often changing the leather color does alter the feel of the leather for instance Tanners tan lace is much firmer than any other color they offer.
That is not to say that every company’s black leather is softer than the traditional tan color, I have seen black hides that would stand up by themselves they were so firm.

i completely agree...well said

Why does it seem like so many of the newer high end gloves seem to tear at the crotch at the bottom of the fingers even with special attention to that area. My old Horween PRO-TB is over 15 years old and still does not have any tearing issues.

yup, my 1984 proT is perfect too.

spedrunr wrote:yup, my 1984 proT is perfect too.

hm...i've never had any problems like that with my gloves...whether it's dry or oil injected...weird