It was perfect, other than the player's name on it, a Rawlings with a H web. It fit like a glove; all you had to do is get the ball near it and the glove would catch it. And then I lost it. I would buy gloves all the time just trying to find one just like it, I buy them, break them in but didn't have any luck, it was like searching for the perfect wave. Then last year I bought 3 gloves at an auction, and one of them was perfect, broken in beautifully and fit like a glove.

I haven't thrown a ball in years but finding that glove bought me so such joy, and now i can stop looking, Now I just have to figure out what to do with all the other gloves I've accumulated.

My grandson just started t ball, of course he's a lefty, I don't have any of those.

Thanks for the photo, it's nice to know others cherish an old glove.

!Too bad about your Roger Clemons. I am glad that " perfect, broken in beautifully and fit like a glove " finally found you! Perhaps you and your grandson can play catch sometime. See how well your throwing arm works.
Thank You!

.... a boys juvenile reform school, a boys summer camp, a low income boys athletics club.

We all lose things as we age. But hopefully those losses don't hurt too much; after all, we have our insights and our memories.

And if we're lucky, we might even have wisdom.

Thx for sharing it with us.

If you were the fat kid, like I was, they made you the catcher. The Twins catcher in those days was 5 time All Star, 3 time gold glove winner Earl Battey.

For most of his career Battey (and most other big league catchers of the era) used a Rawlings HoH-X mitt. They are unusual compared to today’s catcher’s mitts because they don’t have a hinge — they’re a no-break mitt. I lusted after one as a kid, but at $50! they were out of my price range.

Over the years I acquired 3-4 HoH-X mitts, but none have Battey’s signature, although some of that model were endorsed by catchers; Ray Fosse, for instance.

In the last year of his career, Battey switched mitts to a Rawlings HNB. Still a no-break, but with a different web, and a slightly different pocket. Several years ago I found one, WITH his signature endorsement, and bought it. I recently had it relaced, cleaned and conditioned. I wish they had re-cemented the pocket, but it’s still a nice glove.

Link to tweet

I do, however, recognize the author of this quote:
“Earl Battey was one of the finest catchers I have ever seen,” teammate Harmon Killebrew said. “I don’t think we realized how great he was.” https://baseballhall.org/discover/card-corner/1959-topps-earl-battey
Click on link for a comprehensive article about Mister Battey.

The article shows him with the Rawlings HOH-X I mentioned earlier.

I got to meet him once, when I was about 10, and got his autograph. His left hand (glove hand) was twice as thick as his right. He had a cannon for an arm. He picked 7 guys off third base in 1962. Show me somebody today who throws out 58% of runners attempting to steal in a season — any season.

I was taking a break from taking a deposition one day, and got to talking to another attorney. He was older than I, and mentioned he had played third base for Colorado Springs. He had played with my hero, and said he was a nice guy.

His career was cut short by bad knees and a goiter which caused his weight to fluctuate. His normal playing weight was about 225, but at one point it ballooned to 260.

RIP Earl Jesse (“Smokey”) Battey.

But one of his teammates was Elston Howard. Great catcher. I think the article on Earl equates Battey with Howard. A good friend told me about a book he's reading titled "Why We Love Baseball: A History in 50 Moments". I have it in my Kindle e—reader; haven't got around to it yet — it might be a book you'd enjoy.

It has been a very long time since I have talked baseball. The game, IMO, has gotten too far away from the sport in which I participated and become big business centered on dollars and zooming in on catchers' signals from the outfield — flagrant cheating — and stuff like that.

At any rate I'm hoping to find a local Little League for whom I might take game pictures. From the little I can recall I loved playing second base and enjoying an orange soda pop after the games, win or lose. I do remember my father was known as a very good American Legion league right — handed pitcher well before I was born, yet, he still could throw a knuckle to me in our back yard. At his advanced age he nearly fell over at release, but by then he was laughing out loud while I usually had to chase the ball which had gotten away from me.

When you played, which position(s) did you play?

Thanks,
Allan

I remember Bobby Richardson well. He was part of the Yankees “Million Dollar Infield” of Clete Boyer, Tony Kubek, Richardson and Moose Skowron (later Joe Pepitone). He was an excellent second baseball and solid lead off hitter. He’s the only man to win World Series MVP on a losing team (1960).

I agree that baseball has become a big business. Earl Battey signed with the White Sox for a bonus of $3999. That was one dollar less than the minimum salary in those days. If he had gotten any more he would have had to have been carried on the big league roster for two years — like Sandy Koufax and Harmon Killebrew. It’s a different game.

As for cheating? Well . . . The mound in Cleveland was 19 inches high — 4 inches extra at the time The groundskeeper said Bob Feller (an Iowa boy) “liked to ride high.” Feller was a gun captain on the USS Alabama during WW II. He brought back the high powered spotting binoculars he used, and installed them in centerfield to steal the catcher’s signs. The Giants under Durocher did something similar. I’m sure there are other examples. As Harry Truman said, “The only thing new in the world is the history you don’t know.”

Bob

I’ll bet your old mitt brings back lots of good memories. I love old baseball photos, being such a huge fan. I won’t hold it against you that you’re a Yankee fan.

My dad pitched semi pro in Cleveland. His idol was Bob Feller. Even though I was a girl we had lots of good times watching games and he’d pitch to me in the back yard and explain the different pitches and how to hit them. I’ve played softball before but just in a league for fun. I have an old mitt and so does Mr. Diamond who played center field one year in college in Florida. Mr. Diamond college yearbook that year sports section had the headline “Brevard Engineering Has Perfect Season, Goes 0 and 12.”

TY for sharing these!

my Dad and his knuckle ball. Feller was one of the very best!


Bob Feller Highlights