Rawlings Fielding Gloves Dot Code Breaker???

[CampWest]

The Bubba Trammel glove and Mike Kelly glove both do NOT have a date code nor a dot code.....

Any suggestions?

I've seen a handful of gloves from that time frame, that appear to potentially be custom pro shop ordered gloves, that do not have any markings. The dedicated glove collectors say they don't exist, but yet there they are. Some claim the dots will raise up and fade over time and use, I dunno about that entirely. I would not be too worried about the lack of date code, though it is nice to have them on there as a sort of validation or to narrow the date range down.

BTW, FWIW, I ordered a custom Rawlings St Louis Custom Shop heart of the hide glove just last year and it has no date code stamping. Point being gloves are still coming out of certain Rawlings factories with no date codes.

[camarokids]

I've seen a handful of gloves from that time frame, that appear to potentially be custom pro shop ordered gloves, that do not have any markings. The dedicated glove collectors say they don't exist, but yet there they are. Some claim the dots will raise up and fade over time and use, I dunno about that entirely. I would not be too worried about the lack of date code, though it is nice to have them on there as a sort of validation or to narrow the date range down.

BTW, FWIW, I ordered a custom Rawlings St Louis Custom Shop heart of the hide glove just last year and it has no date code stamping. Point being gloves are still coming out of certain Rawlings factories with no date codes.

Thanks Wes.

Bubba signed with his #21 and he only wore #21 with the Devil Rays. Plus I bought it from a seller who lives where the Rays play. I have a pic of the original owner with Bubba and she is holding the glove. Like you say it would be nice to have the code....

[flota89]

This may be a dumb question ... But what about a pro glove distinguishes it from a glove that just anyone can order? Is it the date code? I've noticed that store model gloves sometimes have four letters followed by numbers while pro gloves seem to just have four letters (BBEH for example). I just wanted to see if anyone knew any good ways to tell a pro glove from one anyone can order. Thanks!

[CampWest]

This may be a dumb question ... But what about a pro glove distinguishes it from a glove that just anyone can order? Is it the date code? I've noticed that store model gloves sometimes have four letters followed by numbers while pro gloves seem to just have four letters (BBEH for example). I just wanted to see if anyone knew any good ways to tell a pro glove from one anyone can order. Thanks!

Some gloves have a 29 after the date code, this means its a Phillipines factory, an 01 is USA Horween. A lot of gloves won't have a number. I don't think the codes provide any conclusive way of determining if a glove is retail vs pro stock. Its my understanding that most major and minor league players order through Rawlings Pro Department, but I don't think aside from anything they obviously customized (ie their name stitching, etc) that there is any conclusive 100% way to distinguish a pro custom from a retail custom.

[gobills123]

Some gloves have a 29 after the date code, this means its a Phillipines factory, an 01 is USA Horween. A lot of gloves won't have a number. I don't think the codes provide any conclusive way of determining if a glove is retail vs pro stock. Its my understanding that most major and minor league players order through Rawlings Pro Department, but I don't think aside from anything they obviously customized (ie their name stitching, etc) that there is any conclusive 100% way to distinguish a pro custom from a retail custom.

Oh but there is my friend.
Materials, glove options (web, hand swen welting etc, deco/full mesh) and that little long tag rather than the rgear custom tags... all dead giveaways.
That being said, it did get tougher for the avg collector not into gloves to tell after they started taking the extra 'pro' out of the model stamping

[gobills123]

I've seen a handful of gloves from that time frame, that appear to potentially be custom pro shop ordered gloves, that do not have any markings. The dedicated glove collectors say they don't exist, but yet there they are. Some claim the dots will raise up and fade over time and use, I dunno about that entirely. I would not be too worried about the lack of date code, though it is nice to have them on there as a sort of validation or to narrow the date range down.

BTW, FWIW, I ordered a custom Rawlings St Louis Custom Shop heart of the hide glove just last year and it has no date code stamping. Point being gloves are still coming out of certain Rawlings factories with no date codes.

After the change, Bob continued making gloves for players who preferred the USA dyes. Those were more rounded/bowled as things got retooled after the move abroad. Sure, he did the big name guys like griffey, hunter, gwynn, mcgwire, ripken, arod.... but also did the lesser name guys who wanted to keep things the same. Once Bob retired, that meant the end of usa gloves (although he kept helping a guy or two until the end) but when the SLCS closed- that was the end of the favor gloves as well. If you knew him, hed do ANYTHING for you. Any color labels, any era labels, and model #, blank palms, a special made by Bob stamp, catchers R wrist patches on fielding gloves, patterns that hadnt been offered in years... pretty sick stuff. No dates on those bad boys... As most of his pro gloves didnt have dates. My mcgwire is dateless as well as countless other pro gloves he made. I'm a HUGE glove collector and totally accept no dating on some models. Itd be silly to think otherwise