Spalding TFPRO

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Spalding TFPRO

Postby Vindoggie » August 7th, 2007, 8:47 pm

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This is a glove I just purchased. I thought it was a very unusual glove... The leather is very nice, not too unlike my TPX Pro w/ Horween. The lining feels soft like the leather in the same TPX Pro. The blue thumb "S" logo is beautiful puff embroidery. The laces are thick and high quality and the piping is leather also. Has anybody ever seen a glove like this? I wasn't sure when I won the auction whether this was a 1980-something cheap Spalding or the company's last ditch effort at making a quality glove??? Surprised the heck out of me! :o

*The three pictures were taken from ebay, where I found the glove.
Last edited by Vindoggie on August 10th, 2007, 9:51 am, edited 3 times in total.
To hell with the expression "You don't really know a man until you've walked a mile in his shoes" How about- "... until you've caught nine innings using his mitt!" A bit more accurate, don't you think?
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Postby MVALZ » August 7th, 2007, 9:18 pm

Hey VDOG, I've also wondered what happened with Spalding and did notice a few MLB players wearing them recently. They must be producing some quality gloves but I wouldn't know where to find them. Pretty sure Robinson Cano and Julian Tavarez choose Spalding....for the right $ I'm sure.
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Death of a glove...

Postby Vindoggie » August 7th, 2007, 11:39 pm

It must be weird to be part of any manufacturing process when all of a sudden, without warning, the machinery comes to a screeching halt... The floor doesn't get swept, the trash doesn't get emptied, and everyone goes home for the last time... In baseball there have been many manufacturers that has happened to. I guess in baseball gloves during my lifetime, I think of Spalding & MacGregor. Imagine being there, working for them when someone killed the power for the last time. The finality of it. Hey, we can search ebay & find remnants of those times. We can recapture the era by sliding our hands into well-preserved leather reminders... I've read about Suntour, a leading Japanese bicycle component manufacturer that paved the way for, and was ultimately put out of business by a very aggressive company, Shimano. That time and the events leading up to the decline has been well documented. I'm sure there are still family members alive who could spill stories about Spalding & MacGregor that would captivate all of us who search for vintage gloves with mint labels... I think that's the part of this site that I yearn to find out more about. What mistakes were made, what did companies do to try and gasp for their last breath... How & why did Rawlings & Wilson persevere? That's what I want to know... (Why did the Rolling Stones outlast the Beatles? Musta' been Yoko!)
Last edited by Vindoggie on August 8th, 2007, 12:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.
To hell with the expression "You don't really know a man until you've walked a mile in his shoes" How about- "... until you've caught nine innings using his mitt!" A bit more accurate, don't you think?
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wow!

Postby Cowboy7130 » August 8th, 2007, 11:51 am

That is a SWEEET glove! 8)
Yes, I still have my first glove.
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Thanks!

Postby Vindoggie » August 9th, 2007, 6:05 pm

Thanks Cowboy! We're gonna use it in the outfield next year when my youngest son turns 15. I'm hoping when he turns 15 he won't toss his glove in the dugout, on the ground, under the bench, in the dirt when he comes off the field. I used to think how crazy it was that in the early 1900's outfielders left their gloves in the field of play before coming in to bat... What a trip hazzard! Anybody know when that custom stopped and why?
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Last edited by Vindoggie on August 10th, 2007, 12:34 am, edited 1 time in total.
To hell with the expression "You don't really know a man until you've walked a mile in his shoes" How about- "... until you've caught nine innings using his mitt!" A bit more accurate, don't you think?
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not sure ...

Postby Cowboy7130 » August 10th, 2007, 12:22 am

I remember reading something about that old custom not too long ago ... where in the world did I read it?? :roll: Oh, well, I will think of it later ...

But I do remember a few years ago, two first basemen on opposing teams arranged to use the same mitt. At the end of a half inning, the visiting first baseman simply tossed his mitt onto the bag, and the home first baseman picked it up, tried it on, and played his half-inning with it. It made "Baseball Tonight" that night, and the commentators speculated about leaving gloves on the field to share with other teams.
Yes, I still have my first glove.
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Postby jackwhale » August 10th, 2007, 2:41 am

When I was going to Tigers games in the 50's with my dad, everyone used to toss their gloves along the foul line when they headed back to the dugout. They were just there waiting to be stepped on when someone chased a foul pop-up.
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