by Bob Brooke

For years, baseball was the sport of choice for many youngsters. So it’s only natural that those same young players, now adults, should want to relive the thrill of those sandlot and Little League games by collecting equipment owned and used by some of the greatest names in professional baseball. Collecting vintage baseball equipment is an education in the evolution and innovations that have led to the high tech game of today.

A 1960 glove made for Mickey Mantle by Rawlings Sporting Goods sold for $239,000 several years ago. But even at that stratospheric price, Mickey’s glove doesn’t hold the record. That prized recognition goes to Lou Gehrig, whose glove went for the awesome sum of $387,500 at auction.

Gloves are probably the most popular of all baseball equipment collectibles. It all began in 1869 when Cincinnati Red Stockings catcher Doug Allison first experimented with the idea by having a glove made for him by a local saddle maker, who essentially sewed pieces of leather together to fit over Allison’s hand. Baseballs are hard and many a player ended up with damaged fingers or palms. To protect themselves, some players began using leather workman’s gloves with the tips of the fingers cut off. Unfortunately, they opened themselves up to ridicule because people considered it "unmanly" to seek protection and, thus, a sign of weakness. The use of a baseball glove by first baseman Albert Spalding influenced more infielders to begin using gloves.

The goal was to make a glove that would pad and protect players’ hands and provide a cushion for catching the ball. However, the first makers of baseball gloves designed them so the player could knock the ball to the ground and not necessarily catch it. In 1875, Charles Waite of the St. Louis Brown Stockings became the first fielder to wear a fingerless glove. And by the mid 1890s, it had become common for players to wear gloves in the field.

Pockets in gloves didn’t appear until the1920s, and fingers of the gloves weren’t laced together until the 1940s. Also, while new gloves are large, older gloves barely fit onto the player’s hand.

So what should a collector look for in a vintage baseball glove? Before anything else, it’s important to search for the player’s imprint, signature or name on the glove. In the 1950s, Rawlings imprinted 60 different players' names on their gloves. Before T.V. made baseball the widely supported sport it is today, fans were loyal to home teams. A Little Leaguer in the Philadelphia area didn’t want a glove with the name of a Chicago Cubs player. So, since Baseball was a regional sport, Rawlings used that approach in his marketing. By 2005 Rawlings Sporting Goods had only six different players under contract for its gloves.

The same players that command premium prices for their collectible baseball cards enjoy the same high prices for their gloves. Ty Cobb, Mickey Mantel, Christy Mathewson, Willie Mays, and Honus Wagner are all names synonymous with gloves demanding premium prices. The glove featuring Mantel’s 1956 triple crown embossed on its pocket now fetches up to $500 if in its original box, or around 10 percent of that price if not.

The Spalding Company made a Babe Ruth, catcher's glove in the 1930s named the "Home Run Special" which it stamped with Ruth’s signature. It can bring $1,000 at auction depending on the condition of the stamped signature.

Baseball bats are another popular collecting category. Like gloves, bats featuring the name of a specific player stamped on the barrel are generally more sought after than those that do not. Vintage, game-used bats belonging to famous players can sell for thousands of dollars. However, vintage store-bought bats sell for only $100 or less. If the size appears on the end of the handle, then the bat is store-bought. While condition is very important in a store-bought bat---it shouldn’t be broken or cracked—that of game-used bats is less critical, as long as a famous player used it.

Early bats, those from the late 19th century, were heavier, had thicker handles, and more of a gradual taper from the handle to the barrel. In 1857, the baseball teams agreed a bat’s dimensions should be not to be more than two and one-half inches around in its thickest part and the bat was to be no longer than forty-two inches.

In 1885, the National League made two major changes. First, it said bats could have 18 inches of the handle wrapped in twine and one side of the bat could be flat. The American Association adopted this rule in 1887, so that teams on both leagues now played by the same rules. But in 1893, both leagues reversed the ruling that bats could be flat on one side but kept the length and thickness the same. The League increased the thickness of a bat to two and three-quarters inches in 1895 and so it remains today. And as with gloves, there’s a distinct difference in pricing of store-bought and game-used bats.

The four-piece hand-stitched, leather-skinned baseball, known as the "Lemon Peel" style, was one of the first used in the 1840s. Makers used dark leather for the cover on these "Figure 8" balls because it was readily available and easier for the players to see when the ball was hit in the air on a clear day. In 1859, the rules stated that a ball must weigh 5.75 to 6 ounces and measure 9.75 to 10 inches in circumference. White baseballs didn’t appear in the game until 1861. Because most ball fields at the time had woods behind them, it was easier for players to see a white ball. Today's baseballs are 9 inches round, weigh 5 ounces, and have 108 stitches. Albert Spalding and his brother opened a sporting goods store in Chicago after he retired and obtained the rights to produce the official National League ball.

While most baseball equipment collectors stick to gloves, shin guards, and bats, a few who can afford them collect jerseys. These can be expensive even for the less famous players. Up to the 1960s, teams issued their players a home and an away uniform. They had torn uniforms repaired. But in recent years, major league baseball teams have gone beyond the basic home and away uniforms and have issued special ones for special events. Some teams have been known to issue up to five different types of uniforms to their players.

The New York Giants uniform jersey of 1908 is one of the rarest uniforms in existence. It doesn’t have a team name or logo on the front, but, instead, says only "World's Champions," for their first World Series win in 1905.

In the past the easiest way to start a collection of uniform tops was to write to the minor league ball clubs affiliated with major league teams. The parent team usually passed down their uniforms to their minor league team the next year. Several uniform tops from the 1930s that have fetched high selling prices at auction were major league tops, worn by famous major league players that had been passed down. One way to discover which major league player the jersey belonged to is to look for the inside shirt tag which contains important dating information.

Hall of Fame Catcher Roger Bresnahan played between 1897 and 1915. He’s most well known for creating protective equipment. In 1905 after getting hit in the head with a baseball, Bresnahan began experimenting with headgear similar to the leather football helmet of the period made by A.J. Reach Sporting Goods. He cut it in half vertically so that one half covered the left side of a right-handed batter's head while the other covered left side of a left-handed hitter.

In 1907, he created catcher's shin guards.  Bresnahan modeled the first ones after cricketer's leg pads, but he found them too bulky. Others ridiculed him. Ignoring their comments, he worked at refining his design and by 1909, most catchers used them.

• PHOTOS from top to bottom

• This ball, autographed by the championship New York Mets team in 1986, is a popular collectible.

• The catcher wore a glove shaped like a mitten with no fingers, allowing for maximum protection from the ever-faster and harder baseballs.

• Players used early fingerless gloves for better grip on the ball.

• Five-fingered gloves with no web, known as "workman"-style gloves were hand made or altered from existing gloves before they were manufactured for baseball.

• Gloves had sewn in webs known as "full webs," which makers sewed directly to the thumb and forefinger and extended to where the thumb and forefinger meet.

• Bats are another popular collecting category. Like gloves, bats that feature the name of a specific player stamped on the barrel are generally more desirable than those that don't

As an avid collector of a variety of antiques and collectibles for the last 20 years, Bob Brooke knows what he’s writing about. Besides writing about antiques, Brooke has also sold at flea markets and worked in an antique shop, so he knows the business side too. His articles have appeared in many antiques and consumer publications, including British Heritage, Antique Week, Southeastern Antiquing and Collecting Magazine, www.OldandSold.com, and many others. To read more of his work, visit his main website at www.bobbrooke.com or his specialty antiques site at www.theantiquesalmanac.com