For sale is a vintage 1940s Leather HUTCH SPLIT FINGER BASEBALL GLOVE. The printed text on the left-handed leather glove is hard to read but says “HUTCH – Cincinnati, USA – SFR – Oil Treated”. The back of the glove is also stamped “US”. On the back of the thumb, “It’s Hutch Built” is stamped on the thumb. The glove also has a player’s name that runs up the pinky finger but the text is too faint to read. The leather is fairly soft and pliable. A great sports collectible.
For sale is an early 1950s Leather HUTCH BILLY MARTIN MODEL SPLIT FINGER BASEBALL GLOVE. The printed text on the right-handed leather glove is hard to read but says “HUTCH 28 – Double Play – Nylon Stitched – Billy Martin Model”. On the back of the thumb, “It’s Hutch Built” is stamped on the thumb. This glove is in excellent condition. The leather is fairly soft and pliable. A great sports collectible.
In 1875, Charles C. Waite was the first confirmed plyer to use a glove. Because using a glove was considered “weakness” in the early days of the game, Waite used a flesh-colored glove hoping to avoid the ire and embarrassment sure to be handed to him from players and spectators alike. Unfortunately, the coloring wasn’t enough to throw onlookers, and he was ridiculed. The need for baseball gloves started to rise when players experienced more hand injuries. By the 1890s, wearing gloves was a normal and common sight in baseball.
In 1887, Rawlings started to manufacture gloves. In 1919, a St. Louis pitcher named Bill Doak went to Rawlings with an idea to give the glove webbing between the thumb and index finger, an extension of the fingers. Doak sold his patent glove design to Rawlings which turned the baseball glove from only a protective element to also a tool that improved fielding. In 1954, in addition to the web between the thumb and index finger, glove design was further improved by lacing together all of the fingers. The glove for sale has no lacing between the fingers and dates to the early 1950s.
Billy Martin began his major league career in 1950 as a second baseman for the Yankees. As a player, he was known for making clutch plays. In the 1952 World Series, he made a game-saving catch on an infield popup in Game 7. In the 1953 season, Martin had career highs in home runs (15), RBIs (75), doubles (24), and triples (6). He was the MVP of the 1953 World Series.
In 1902, the Hutchinson Company was founded to manufacture leather straps for horses and horse carriages. After World War I, the company branched out to leather sports equipment by making footballs and then after World War I added baseball gloves to their product line.
