Frank "Home Run" Baker Glove

[cguidi]

I recently found this pair of vintage matching Spalding World Series Model fielders gloves that I believe date to around 1910. One of them has Home Run Baker's name written on it (in four different locations) along with "Trappe Md" (Bakery's home town) and some statistics. The stats are yearly home run totals and it also says "Seventy Seven Home Runs" on one finger although Baseball-reference credits Baker with 96. I am hoping someone in the community can help me find some more info on these or provide recommendations for cleaning/restoring them if it would be worthwhile.

Thanks,

[vintagesportscollector]

Nice gloves. They are called "King Patent" gloves, distinguished by the lacing around the back allowing the lining to be removed and replaced. Quite rare and first came out in 1910. You have what appears to be a BB1 model. Here are some other examples of King Patents.

http://www.baseballglovecollector.com/gallery/king-patents

[perezfan]

Yes- the era/timing and professional quality certainly don't preclude it from being a Baker gamer. You'll likely need more provenance to prove it, unfortunately. I would search for hi-res photos of Baker using a white King Patent. That would help solidify the process, as it's a pretty rare model.

I wouldn't clean or restore it, either. If it's potentially a Gamer, you want to leave as-is. If its not a Gamer, then some re-lacing would help the overall appearance. But be very careful of any cleaning attempts. The white leather does not respond well to any Lexol, Oil, Vaseline, or other traditional cleaners/conditioners. It will just turn it darker, and you don't want that.

Hope this helps, and best of luck!

[Baseball Glove Collector]

Great gloves and great advice Joe & Mark. If there is any chance those gloves are tied to Baker, then whatever you do, DO NOT CLEAN THEM! King Patents in general are fairly common but are highly desirable. Yours dates to 1913 & subsequent as 1912 & prior were full webs, not 1 Inch webs, but if you can photo match them like Mark advised then they would be worth a ton of money. I would look for something 1919 & prior as he didn't have 77 home runs until the 1919 season I believe. I'm pulling for you man. Good luck!

Here are some catalog pics from 1913 for fun. Hope this helps a bit.

JD
www.baseballglovecollector.com

[cguidi]

Thank you so much for all the info. I knew I could count on the Net54 community... there is such an incredible wealth of knowledge on this forum. I know the odds of proving either of them "game used" by Baker will be virtually slim to none but you never know...

JD you are right... it looks like the glove credits Baker's HR's through the 1919 season although it counts three less HRs than Baseball-Reference does through that year. It looks like BR gave him 11 HRs in 1911 and 9 HRs in 1914 where the glove only gives him 9 and 8.

BR Glove
1908 0 0
1909 4 4
1910 2 2
1911 11 9
1912 10 10
1913 12 12
1914 9 8
1916 10 10
1917 6 6
1918 6 6
1919 10 10
1921 9
1922 7
96 77

[cguidi]

The 1912 Reach Baseball Guide credits Baker with 9 home runs in 1911 which is consistent with what is written on the glove but two fewer than baseball-reference now gives him credit for. I wonder where those two extra home runs came from and when they were credited... here is a screen shot.

[cguidi]

According to the Spalding 1915 guide Baker only had 8 HRs in 1914... again correct to the glove but one less than he is given credit for today...

[Baseball Glove Collector]

Historians and statisticians probably re-examined old games over the years and adjusted his home run total similar to Ty Cobb and his hits. I remember growing up in the 70's and 80's that Ty Cobb had 4,191 hits. That's what my baseball cards said and that's what I always knew. I was like Rainman quoting stats as a kid. Then, later over the years, it was found that two of hits were double counted in a game (or something like that) so they adjusted his hit total to 4,189. It was hard to reprogram my brain. Ha.

JD