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Posted By: Robert Plancich

According to the MastroNet website Dave Bushing is a bat, glove and equipment authenticator. It goes on to say that "Dave has been in the business since the mid-eighties and has established himself as the number one authority and authenticator of bats and gloves. He has a Masters degree and has published several books on equipment including Vintage Sports Equipment with Krause Publications and pocket identification and value guides to gloves and bats. A certificate of authenticity from dave is a 'sin qua non' for anyone seeking to buy a serious bat.He has been selected as the repository of the Louisville Slugger archives and has all the records for every bat ever made for any player of note. This information is not otherwise available. His exclusive services will MastroNet an insurmaountable edge in the authentication of bats, gloves and other equipment, since he is virtually the only respected authority. He is regularly consulted by collectors, dealers, institutions and other auctions that require his expertise to validate their items. Dave was one of the primary consultants to Sotheby's for the recent Halper sale that realized over $25,000,000."

In the March 5th, 2004 issue of SCD (page 66) an ad appears entitled "MEET THE MEMBERS OF SCD AUTHENTIC" and this exact same copy appears in the ad with a couple of minor updates and/or additions. Most notable was the last paragraph which states "Already a huge success in the memorabilia business, collectors ask why are you now a member of the SCD Authentic team? Dave states 'Collectibles for me is a lifestyle, not a 9 - 5 job. Authenticating for SCD is my way of giving back to the hobby and keeping it safe and honest for many generations to come."

What I don't understand is that if what Mr. Bushing says is true then why does he continue to ignore my emails when I have questions about items that he and Mr. Knoll have deemed to be authentic? I have sent Mr. Bushing over twenty emails that have all gone unanswered. Why? If he has authenticated an item and he is supposedly the "world's foremost expert" and "virtually only respected authority" then why won't he answer any questions? It is only when he refuses to sustantiate his claims of an item's authenticity that I am forced to take it to the media. Why won't SCD's T.S. O'Connell and Rocky Landsverk answer my emails and/or requests for information. How naive do these people think that we are?

According to a Supreme Court decision an "experts" opinion must be based in scientific fact. This applies to doctors, engineers, autograph experts and Messrs. Bushing and Knoll. When cornered their usual reply is "it's just my opinion" and they feel that this somehow insulates them from any liability - but they are wrong. I urge anyone to email Mr. Bushing and ask him about the Seaver glove, the DiMaggio glove, the DiMaggio bat and/or the Cobb decal bat and see if you get any response. Ask him who authenticated the gloves in the 1999 Barry Halper auction and see for yourself what kind of answer that you get, if any. He has told me numerous times that he did not authenticate those gloves and yet Sotheby's and Robert Lifson say that he did. According to the statements above he was one of the "primary consultants" to this auction. Why would Sotheby's hire experts including Messrs. Bushing and Knoll to authenticate everything in that auction except the game-used gloves?

It takes a lot more than self-serving articles in SCD, rhetoric and recycled advertising copy to become an expert!