Glove Story

by Greg Prince on 13 July 2008 2:13 am

I got my first real glove on July 3, 1972. The family took me to Mr. Sport on Park St. that Monday night before we headed off to Westbury for the Sonny & Cher concert (opening act: an unknown comedian who got on people’s nerves with all his props and shtick, Steve Martin). I call it my first real glove because I was outgrowing my previous glove. It was from a company I’d never heard of and had no player’s inscription. Since I was in my second year of Pee-Wee League ball, I wanted something substantive, something real, something you’d heard of.

So the salesman found me a Spalding fielder’s glove. Good fit. A little stiff, but time would take care of it. Only problem was the signature: Bobby Murcer.

I didn’t want a Bobby Murcer glove. It wasn’t so much that Bobby Murcer was a Yankee, it was that he was the favorite Yankee of my alternately good friend and sworn enemy who lived in Lido. The sworn enemy part only flared up when there was a severe disagreement between us. Days earlier, we had an argument over a ball that was fair; he said it was foul; even his mother said it was fair. We snarled at each other, ended our two-man game of whatever kind of baseball we were attempting to play and I went home mad.

Now I was wearing a glove with that kid’s favorite player’s name. But it was a good glove. I said yes, I will take it. My father paid $10 for it, or 28 cents a year over the past 36 years.

It became my first real glove and, unless I make a comeback to pick up for Moises Alou, my last real glove. It hasn’t seen any action since 2003, but it is my glove. Every catch I’ve had since I was 9-1/2 has been with Bobby Murcer’s name facing out.

I didn’t do it justice, I’m sure.

Anonymous

July 14th, 2008 at 5:57 am

When I was a boy, he was the ONLY true Yankee star..In his time he was a fine ball player. I couldn't believe they traded him in the first place. He never looked right in a National League uniform..
R.I.P. Bobby….

July 14th, 2008 at 10:29 am

Fare-thee-well to a class guy all around…well…except for this time:
Old-Timers' Day, 1978 or '79, I can't remember. It was the year they brought Kiner in from the outfield in a hot-air balloon. Anyway during the game itself, Bobby Murcer hit a hard smash to first that Willie Montanez gloved on one quick, shorthop. And he stood there like the Statue of Liberty. Murcer quit on the play halfway down the line and peeled off for the 3rd base dugout. Montanez still hasn't touched firstbase.
PS — I don't recall the SF Giants ever playing in Really Old Yankee Stadium after '62. Hmmmm…..

July 14th, 2008 at 1:58 pm

Ha! My first real mitt (replacing a mess from KMart when I was about 10) was a Rawlings Bucky Dent signature model picked up at Hermanns. If I recall, there were no Met-signed mitts that fit as well, so I sucked it up. I still use it on those rare occasions I play catch with a hardball.

July 16th, 2008 at 3:02 pm

Speaking of which, why is he listed as an AL all star on this card?

July 17th, 2008 at 6:13 am

It's his '75 card, reflecting the '74 season when he indeed made the AL team.