Vintage Baseball Glove Questions

[aelefson]

Hi-
I recently acquired the small glove scanned below. It is approximately 6.5inches tall at its tallest point and approximately 7.75 inches from side to side. Is this a really small child's glove? Is it a salesman sample glove? Could anyone provide information regarding Winfield gloves or gloves of this size? Any information provided would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
Alan Elefson
aelefson@hotmail.com

[Mr. Mitt]

Given its size and plastic piping, appears to me to be a child's mitt. Usually salesmen samples are much smaller, an inch or two, not as large as yours. Also, I've not encountered samples that have piping other than leather. The purpose of them was to highlight top of the line materials, like rolled leather piping, so the plastic is a huge signal of a lesser quality child model. It's survived in wonderful condition, though, and an attractive piece.

As for the maker, I've heard of Winfield, but don't know anything about the company. I'm sure there are some guys in the hobby who'll be able to shed some light for you.

[aelefson]

Thank you very much. I really appreciate the information! Do you have any idea of the approximate age of this glove?
Alan

[khkco4bls]

alan,from what ive seen of winfield they usually make child like equip. but as far as salesman i have a spalding full web 6" glove with a spalding button and a nice label on the back.the button says a.g.spalding and bros. and a midco calfskin glove both are top line as far as i know. i hope this helps.

[aelefson]

Hi
Thank you! I thought it was a little too big (and cheapish) to be a salesman sample but I wanted to find out because I have never seen what a sample looks like. I really appreciate the scans above. I was still curious if anyone knew an approximate date on the glove. When did plastic begin to be used for gloves?
Thanks,
Alan

[william_9]

Alan, I would venture to guess that your mitt is a 1930's child's glove. To the best of my knowledge, there wasn't any plastic being used in gloves prior to the 30's. They are fairly common at antique shops. I've never seen an adult sized Winfield glove. They may be some kind of mail-in promotional item or something to that effect.

I've seen a few of the Spalding gloves shown above. They pop up from time to time. I think they are kids gloves. Most often, they have wear that is consistent with heavy use. Much more abuse than would be expected on a sample. When you can see sweat marks, it's been used a lot. Spalding's line of kids gloves had a high and a low end as well. The above example looks like a near high-end glove. The top of the line would have leather piping, most likely folded instead of rolled to save on cost.

[aelefson]

Thanks William! I really appreciate the information you provided. I always have difficulties determining approximate dates for gloves.
Alan