Unknown Endorsement

[eleet]

Today I was conditioning a 1930's tunnel loop glove that Ive had for sometime. For the first time I noticed an endorsement. I have cleaned it many times but can only make out a small portion of the letters. What I can make out is a "C" then 3 or 4 other letters that are not legible followed by "Klein" then a "J". The only player I can think of is Chuck Klein, but that doesn't explain the "J". Was he a jr?

The only other thing legible is "Genuine Horsehide" and the number "1654"

Im unaware of the manufacturer. Does anyone know the player that might have endorsed this glove?

[BretMan]

Chuck Klein isn't listed as a "Junior" in the Baseball Encyclopedia.

Might the glove be a "junior", or small kid-sized model?

As for the maker, all of the J.C. Higgins (Sears) gloves from that era were four-digit model numbers, all beginning with "16" (such as 1661, 1692, etc.). Might the "J" be part of their trademark?

The J.C. Higgins catalog data is kind of spotty, and I don't see any Klein models listed there. The Autograph Baseball Glove Finder lists a Klein-endorsed Wilson model as "located" (ie: a model has been found, but does not appear in the collected catalog data). Wilson did make most of the gloves sold by Sears under the Higgins logo.

Not much to go on, but that's a start! Maybe some of that info can help you with a more positive identification.

[eleet]

Under further inspection its pretty clear that the endorsement is "Chuck Klein". The glove is adult size therefore the "J" must be part of the J.C. Higgins logo, although I'm not certain as only the J is legible. It is nice to figure out the endorsement and HOF to boot.

Thanks for the help.

[BretMan]

Thanks to fellow forum member "ebbets55", there is a web site with photos of quite a few JC Higgins gloves (as well as other makes).

You can even blow up the photos by clicking on them, and that might let you get a good view of the stamping on the gloves. Maybe some of the more-readable ones will give you some clues about the stampings on your glove.

And if they don't...you still get the chance to look at some really cool gloves!

Baseball Glove Collector- JC Higgins Gloves