A Glove Collector's Nightmare - Dave Cunningham's Story

[ebbets55]

I just got off the phone with our glove buddy Dave Cunningham who had very bad news to report. His home caught fire and everything was completely destroyed including his life’s belongings, family memories and his one of a kind Glove Web and Softball Glove collection consisting of over 150 of the toughest web styles he accumulated right alongside of us.

It happened on August 16th at about 1:30 in the morning while he was in bed, and it happened so fast and furious that he barely had time to get his wife Erlene and his son Aaron out in time. The Fire Department said he only had about another minute or so to spare. He had to feel around for door handles to find his way out as he couldn’t see anything. That’s how intense the smoke and flames were. The fire was caused by a battery pack charging overnight. Although many chargers for our cell phones, laptops, etc. have self shut-offs, not everything does. Please be aware of that fact.

Dave wanted to remind everyone to check their smoke detectors as that’s what saved his life. Dave, as sharp and responsible as he is, always kept them in good working order and tested them regularly. He also had a rider on his insurance policy covering his glove collection. Remember folks, a homeowner’s policy won’t cover a memorabilia type collection like that without a rider. Luckily he had insurance to soften the blow but those gloves are irreplaceable. Thankfully he memorialized them in his three books to the benefit of hobby generations to come.

Thank God he has so many friends and a wonderful community of supporters around him. He is doing fine considering and his family is living about a mile away from his old home in a rental until they rebuild. His new home won’t be ready for a good five months. Despite all he’s been through recently, he still maintains his composure and sense of humor and said, “Well JD, those old gloves went out in a blaze of glory.” We all cope with things in our own way and I’m sure Dave’s strong character is getting him through. The last picture shows where his prized softball glove collection used to be displayed. There are absolutely no remains of it.

For those of you who don’t know Dave, he is one of the good guys. Just wanted to pass along the sad news and hope you will all reach out to our friend and send your well wishes and prayers. He can be reached at cunninghamd1707@yahoo.com.

JD
http://www.baseballglovecollector.com

Pictures are in the Blog section as they are too large to upload here.

[Mr. Mitt]

How terribly traumatic, those pictures are awful. You and your family got out, that’s the most important thing. Material stuff like gloves don’t mean a thing and can be reacquired. Hang in there Dave!

[vintagebrett]

Dave, sorry to hear about this terrible event. Happy to hear you and your family made it out safely!

[jpop43]

Dave,

So very sorry to hear the awful news about your collection. I echo the comments of Jim, Jerry, and Brett and am glad that you and your family are safe and sound. I surely do hope that you think to rebuild your wonderful collection again over time.

Best Wishes,
The Popovich Family

[GloveCrazy]

I'm so sorry to hear the news, Dave, but am so happy that you and your family are ok. We'll get you back on your feet glove-wise once the time is appropriate for that, but just know that you are in our hearts and prayers. Rob

[murphusa]

So so sorry

[lefty147]

Dave, So sorry for your loss. Prayers for you and your family. Mike

[theglovester]

Very sorry to hear......In prayers from Dixie...

[ScottWNJ]

So very sorry to see this. But am happy that Dave and his family made it out of there alright.

[softball66]

None better than Dave! I know he's devastated but this shows how precious life is. Getting your family out in time is the miracle.
Please let us know what you need! Our prayers and support are with you and your family at this time!

[stockbuddy]

Hi Guys,

Thanks so much for your kind thoughts, gestures and prayers. The fire we experienced in our home was a nightmare. Thank the Lord, I and my wife and son made it out but with little time to spare. The fire marshal commented in another 2 or 3 minutes he would not have been talking to people. Our smoke alarms woke us up about 1:30 in the morning and I had been charging a battery that was used to fly radio controlled helicopters. I should have been charging it earlier in the day to attend to it but I did not charge it until late that evening and forgot it was plugged in and then went to bed. The battery likely overheated and then caught the couch and floor on fire. Guys, make sure you have smoke alarms that are working (they saved our lives) and be careful with charging batteries too.

Anyway, the house had a lot of fire and smoke damage and as the pics on JD's website show the "stuff" in my den is just no more. The glove collection along with the other stuff is true history. I did have the gloves covered under a separate rider policy but some of the gloves were one of a kind, as far as we know. Seventeen plus years of collecting gloves was fun and challenging but I will not try and replicate that collection. What few glove books I had in my den are no more. I have the electronic book at a printer in a different town, but I will not be asking them to print more as it was a lot of work just trying to keep track of paperwork and mailing them out, etc. As some of you know, it can also be a costly adventure. I hope those that now have one of the old glove books will continue to enjoy it.

As I mentioned in the past the real reward in our glove hobby is not only having the chance to get some cool old gloves, but more importantly to meet some really nice people such as yourselves.
We are planning to build a house in another part of town so it may be a few months before we have a "home" again. Currently we are living in a rent home while we wait to get our house built.


I have mentioned to my wife how difficult it must be for a whole community to experience a disaster all at once, such as fire, tornado etc. There was at least people within our church family and our community who were there to help us through this disaster. It would be much tougher if a whole community experienced the same event. Like brother Joe mentioned, all the things in our home were just stuff. At least we were able to get the heck out of the house. Thanks guys for your continued prayers and support.

Just a lighter note. Now there are about 150 fewer gloves in the glove world and those still existing have become more valuable. LOL Keep on collecting those gloves..
Best to each of you.

Dave

[Mr. Mitt]

Rob's got the right idea. When you're ready, Dave, or when you need a diversion, let us know and we'll help you start building your collection again!

For those who've never met or dealt with Dave, or haven't seen his collection and what he's contributed to the advancement of our hobby, take a look at this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOsUMdVRMJ0&sns=em

[vintagebrett]

Rob's got the right idea. When you're ready, Dave, or when you need a diversion, let us know and we'll help you start building your collection again!

Absolutely!

[jpop43]

Count us in for that effort!

[theglovester]

Joe or JD give me a holler there will be something coming from East Tennessee. Drokester