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A specialized collector is taking used, no-name gloves and getting them signed at celebrity sports shows. This is not to be confused with glove collectors who collect vintage varieties, from pre-War Hall of Famers to post-war Hall of Famers, up to 1965 mitts. Joe Phillips of Dallas, publisher of The Glove Collector newsletter, has watched this niche of collecting for quite a while. Like bat and card collectors, Phillips knows his product by serial numbers. He also knows who wore whose glove. Jim Bouton wanted to get his hands on a signature Bouton glove. (He never used one of his own.) Phillips says Jim Bunning used a Bouton-signed glove. Phillips thrives on the minutae of this niche of the hobby. Collectors also collect for names, though the Wilson T-2000 is a no-name glove and one of the industry's most popular. Some people want left-handed catchers mitts. Phillips says manufacturers produce one lefty catcher's mitt for every eight normal mitts. He says there are five right-handed Whitey Ford gloves for every lefty. Ford, of course, was a southpaw. So if you happen to have one of these store model gloves, you just might consider taking them to a show to get autographed. Phillips said it seems to be happening more and more, although many of the players might resist signing a glove that's in anything but pristine condition. Glove collector Bruce Weaver of Brentwood, Tenn., has found satisfaction in obtaining player signatures. "I have never been an autograph hound," Weaver said. "But as of late I have begun to feel that these great items need to be personalized. Seeing my signed Berra, Reynolds, Reese, etc., brings out a different personality to these items. Being a collector of items related to players active in the '51 season (what a great year for heroes), I realize these great players will not be with us forever and to have such items as gloves personalized would give a different life to something as beautiful as old leather." Collectors with Eddie Mathews and Willie Mays branded gloves, for example, are adding these collectibles to the mix of items to be signed. Collectors have been known to have the World Series perfect game battery -- Don Larsen and Yogi Berra -- sign a catcher's mitt, for example. Some collectors have been known to acquire the signatures of great lefties -- Whitey Ford, Billy Pierce, Sandy Koufax -- on a glove. Or they may collect the names of great middle infielders or third basemen on a glove, such as Reese and Rizzuto, or Reese and Boudreau or Brooks Robinson. Unlike bats, the trend in collecting autographs on gloves is to just a handful of signatures. The location for a glove signature seems open for debate. The Sweet Spot equivalent for a glove is in the heel or along the "pinky" on the outside. The branded signature is typically in the pocket, but let's face it, it's tough to sign in the pocket. Phillips said 90 percent of those who seek signatures on gloves want them signed on the palm or pinky. . . . David Drozen of Woodland Hills, Calif., said people are going up into their attics and rediscovering Mantle, Mays and Musial model gloves. "All of a sudden there is a proliferation of glove collecting and people are pulling out their old gloves," Drozen said. He noted that a Bob Lemon glove recently sold for $1,000. "It was a beauty," Drozen said, "but the only way a glove like that gets up to that price level is if you're a Bob Lemon or Cleveland Indians collector." |