Out of the Blue

[softball66]

I am selling a little GJ99 Mantle on ebay and got this "corrective" message from someone I'd not heard of before.
He had some nice suppositions and opinions. Not sure they all jibe though.
I emailed him back that I was aware of some of his points though not agreeing with them all. He was nice about it. Here's his message:

"Hi-You did a nice honest job in your description. If I may help you out a little-this wasn't nearly the top selling youth glove (except maybe to Mickey fans) in the late 70s when it came out with his new sig and no "dancing MM figure" in the pocket (as it was originally sold to cheaper market). And, at the time was not inexpensive, regardless of the fact that it was made in Japan, as have been most gloves (Japan, Indonesia, Korea, Taiwan, etc.) other than Nokona and Goldsmith since the 70s. (Nokona, the only major maker making ALL their gloves in the US now.) And use does NOT necessarily reduce the desirability. For a collector, it raises it. And for SOME who want to use OR display it, it gives it authenticity and looks less like a "toy" made for display.It is also broken in. A never-used 30-year old glove could be dry & like concrete now and ready to start cracking. "Writing" of any kind on a glove is one of the least desirable flaws. It's a great display glove though. Good luck. -Don

[Chicago Red Sox Fan]

Especially nice of him telling you about Nokona!

[ebbets55]

Take that! That oughta teach ya Joe. This is great. I thought the dancing M Mantle signature started in the mid-1960's. If so, that puts him about 15 years out of date and I also think he may be referring to Glovesmith, not Goldsmith.

Thanks for sharing. This is good stuff. At least he was friendly and meant well.

JD

[softball66]

Right guys. Don't know where this nice fellow has been but he's thirsting for some more information and maybe a book or two to catch up. Let's help him out. He'll probably be coming to the forum.
He loves to work on gloves himself and has done splendid jobs (lanolin man) even the lower end models and get them into top shape. He's emailed me some long notes about his background and love for the old gloves.
I'm mailing out some old newsletters and glove stories to him. He'll be a good addition to our knowledge team here.
He is friendly and does mean well like you say.
Re: Nocona. Had an email from Robby recently saying once the Dallas M News story hit the A. P. they've been getting calls and responses from across the country. Hopes it will result in some sales.