Best of April 2010

[Mr. Mitt]

Oooooh... another endorsed model! This Dubow Lou Gehrig sold for a best offer of $1000. It has its problems (like, is it laced together with wire from a spiral notebook?), but a Gehrig is a Gehrig.

[Mr. Mitt]

This respectable, tall, Reach full-web with a patch ended at $163 on 11 bids. I like the wear, going to look nice on a shelf!

[Mr. Mitt]

An inordinate amount of Hornsby's have surfaced recently, but this Lutzke-style three-finger garnered very good interest (as they normally do). Decent condition with general flaws, but still ended at $237 on 15 bids. It's the wrong hand (he was a right handed thrower), so that could have hindered price escalation a bit. Wilson three-fingered Hornsby gloves carry the 632 model number and were top of the line gloves with magnificently soft leather and rolled leather piping. Nice examples have historically sold for about $1000, while a NM example of this coveted glove changed hands for $1950, according to my records. Its four-finger counterparts are the 648L (long finger length) and 648M (medium finger length), which are equally impressive in their material and craftsmanship. Wilson produced other Hornsby endorsed models such as the "Rajah" Hornsby Champion Batsman, but none compare to the 632 and 648 models as far as quality is concerned.

[GloveCrazy]

I ended up with the Stuffy Stall and Dean and am very pleased ... I love that model with the thick buckleweb! Of course Ricky and I mix up his name every time we talk about his gloves (Stuffy, Sniffy, Snuffy, etc.). Ricky, I see you are still looking for a nice Waner. Great pickup Jerry on the buckelweb fielders... that one is pretty special. As for the debate on workman definitions, Dave Bushing's book disagrees with the notion that workman gloves can't have a web. I tend to disagree as well with clear-cut absolute definitions, especially if we are using those definitions to denote decades. I believe there was overlap between models as different manufacturers tried innovative approaches to sell more gloves.

[Mr. Mitt]

This George Kelly is beat to hell, but very intriguing. First off, it has problems. It needs a good cleaning, it has to be relaced and the buckle strap must be resewn. Whoever won it, please contact William at Huntington Base Ball Co. to do the job correctly. Just trust me, you won’t be disappointed. Now, what fascinates me about it is that it is the only Goldsmith Kelly I’ve encountered. I’ve watched endorsed gloves for more than 20 years, and I’ve never seen another, though I could be mistaken. Goldsmith had some of the earliest endorsements, so there is a high probability this could be the oldest Kelly found. Beyond that, I love the odd shape of the “V-notch” on the back of the mitt. One cool mitt that a smart buyer got for only $169. I’d love to see it after it’s been attended to.

[Mr. Mitt]

I was watching this white, full-web Ratsch Peerless intently this past week. Not only it is in respectable condition, but you have to love that celluloid button! A really nice example of a tough teen’s maker that ended at $355.

[MGHProductions]

Here's the Gehrig cleaned up and relaced thanks to Brett.. Looks awesome!

[Mr. Mitt]

That's a great job! Good work, Brett... and fantastic foresight, Matt!

[vintagebrett]

The Gehrig just need a little TLC - it didn't require much cleaning and it took to the Chelsea Leather Food well.

[jpop43]

Only a few days left for April...gonna be sad to see it go...what a great month for gloves/mitts...congrats to everyone who picked up a "keeper" over the past 30 days.

[Mr. Mitt]

This Doak is simply stupendous!!! Practically unused with a magnificent Rawlings patch and button, silver in the stampings, a super-smooth lining and rolled leather piping that's second to none. I'm ashamed to say I don't have a Doak in my collection and it took all my strength not to break my narrow collecting focus and bid on this beauty. It ended at $305 with 27 bids, congrats to the winner, enjoy it!!!

[crackofthebat]

I was the winner of the Doak. Besides the great condition I have never seen a 5 BD with a sewn heel. It looks just like the original model Doak. Looking forward to seeing it in person! This is the first nice glove I have won on ebay in a long time.

[Mr. Mitt]

So happy it's going to a good home! Congratulations Fred!

[AkBandit]

Congratulations on getting the Doak. At least it is going to a fellow Doak lover. I watched it right to the end but it got out of my April budget. Looking at the bidder list, I hope the bidder that was new, with zero feedback, really wanted the glove and wasn't there just to run up the price. They bid 10 bids almost right in a row and then stopped. I'm glad it's going to a good home.

[Mr. Mitt]

This cool Yale College glove sold for $335 on 24 bids. Was there demand because of its fabulous condition, its uniqueness, or were some Yale alumi bidding against each other? Doesn't matter, nifty glove!