Rawlings Mantle three-finger glove

[Hodges14]

I saw a Rawlings Mickey Mantle glove TGF7 on e-bay that is a three-finger model that also has a fast-back. They have a buy it now for $1500. I'm not interested in purchasing by found it very odd. The glove is like combing the three finger (late 40's & 50's) and the 80's (fastback?) I don't know how to post the e-bay site below like some of you more experieced posters, but the # is 280216016446 if anyone wants to look at it. It is a really nice glove and doesn't look small like you might think a three finger does. You kind of have to look twice to notice that it only has three fingers. Any idea of the year and why this was produced?

[BretMan]

I've seen a few of these on eBay. They do not appear in the Rawlings catalogs (that I could find) so must have been made for sale through some specific retail outlet- possibly JC Penneys, as they sold some other special Mantle models.

The Fastback design premiered in 1968 and this is obviously an early version. Note the horizontal index finger slot, the stamping "Patent Applied For" (not yet granted) and the "air holes" in the back of the glove.

Going from memory, the others I saw sold for around $150. The seller on this glove routinely has "Buy it Now" prices five or ten times the going market price on his auctions. That is his right, and maybe that approach works for him, but beware of using this BIN price as a guage to actual value.

A nice and unique glove, but not as extremely rare as he might like you to believe. And likely not "Heart of the Hide" quality leather either. In this "unused" condition, I'm thinking $300 would be the top price.

[Hodges14]

Thanks for the information. As I look back at the e-bay site, I noticed that the strap on the back of the glove to tighten it on the hand looks like the leather is cracked and the condition looks kind of out of place compared to the nice condition of the rest of leather on the glove. While it is only 20 years (1948-1968) between when the first three finger to the first fastback, I think of three finger as old and fastback as modern. But that is just because of my age and when I started playing ball around 1955. My first glove was a three finger Rawlings Snider so I kind of have a fasination for Rawlings and three finger gloves. It just didn't seem to compute, a three finger Mantle with a fastback.

[spedrunr]

according to my records, this glove last sold for $500 and some change

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... ZbsQQfviZ1

[BretMan]

Good record keeping, spedrunr! I don't know if I remeber that particular glove, but have seen others with more use and not in as nice of shape. Still, the BIN price represents a 3X price factor over that similar glove.

Rawlings, and other glove makers, have produced three-finger gloves on-and-off throughout the years. Most recently, Rawlings sold a line of three-finger gloves aimed at the softball market, dubbed "The Vice".

Having used a modern (1980's) MacGregor three-finger, I will say that the design is functional. The three-fingers, with two fingers placed in one finger slot, does seem to provide more leverage from the hand when squeezing the ball.

While the design is functional, the form seems to turn off the modern glove buying public. If the three-fingers were selling like hotcakes, I would imagine that we would be seeing a lot more of them today.

[spedrunr]

haha, it's my quiet obsession name the rawlings glove model and i might be able to tell ya who has it and for how much if it was on ebay the last 3yrs

as for the 3 finger mods, i think that it is really a great design. the less independant moving parts to a glove the better (as we can attest to the split finger days). how many outfielders would jump at the chance to use a 1b mitt if it were legal? i picked up an akadema reptilian from PIAS and it does seem to really gobble up the ball and close easily. but i can't seem to get past the aesthetics of the webbed finger nubbs.

as bretman has said, the general public is more accustomed to seeing a glove that mimics the human hand with 5 fingers.

[Mike_2007]

I noticed there are 3 holes on the back of the glove yet no mention of them... 2 of them could MAYBE be for a pinkie strap... I don't like extra holes on my gloves!

[BretMan]

I mentioned them in my first post. All of the early (first year?) Fastback gloves seemed to have those holes and I have never seen laces in any of them. I assume that they were intended for ventilation.

[Mike_2007]

I didn't make the connection that those were the "air holes"... that is a new one for me! Actually, I can't accept the air holes theory... Did a designer decide that 3 little holes in those specific locations would provided ventilation? Makes no sense...

[spedrunr]

actually, i've seen many fastback models from that era with those same holes. some have 3 or more. i'd have to agree with BM, what else would they be intentionally put in the back of a fastback model other than ventilation? granted it's not as affective as a conventional back, but 3 holes is better than none

[Mike_2007]

I don't have a better explanation as to why the holes are there... But if I was designing a glove and decided to add a few holes for ventilation I would make it look better - maybe in a pattern. The hole near the slot would be covered up by the back of your hand. Then you have two on one side and none on the other... My engineering mind is spinning right now!

[docglov]

sorry guys but those were for ventilation, I didn't do it my mentor did...... But I had ask him about it

[Mike_2007]

Thanks for chimming in Doc! But I still have to say - they really don't look right. Since I haven't seen them on later fastbacks I would think it was a failed experiment.

[docglov]

I'd say your right Mike probably not our first bad idea or our last, but the market demands new ideas and colors, no telling how good Ozzie would have been if he had access to these new models instead of plain tan ha

[Chicago Red Sox Fan]

As the person who sold this glove to the current seller on ebay I'll offer up a few observations:

1. Ed, I'm a little troubled by the fact that you have more information about the most recent purchase than I do - maybe we have a member who sidelines for the NSA?

2. The three holes looked to be totally original ventilation holes (as a matter of fact someone just listed a 4 finger Mantle MMF with the same configuration on ebay
http://cgi.ebay.com/Mickey-Mantle-Fastb ... dZViewItem

3. "Value" is a very subjective thing. I purchased the glove off of the MEARS website sometime last year. I don't visit the MEARS site to find "bargains"; I visit to learn and consider gloves that are usually otherwise not available to me. I thought this glove had enough going for it (starting with the endorsement) to warrant the cost. This time I guessed right, selling it for a nice profit. If Bob can sell it for 2x (or 10x) what he paid for it, all power to him - many others had the opportunity to bid on it.

John