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Baseball gloves presented a new challenge for the doctor's
unique leather crafting abilities. In 1987, he set out on
his own to pursue this new endeavor. Legacy began
as a baseball glove repair company. Soon Doc discovered
that the mitt relining aspect of his service was nationally unique
and separated him from the other repair businesses. Quickly,
the company became associated with fine restoration work. Many
of the best glove collectors were now sending their mitts for
repair. As more and more gloves arrived, it became quite
apparent to Doc that gloves made by major companies, purchased
at sporting goods stores, were no longer made with the same quality
they once were. The mitts that were coming in to John Golomb for repairs made in the last few years, were noticeably
inferior as compared to the same models made in previous years. This
can be attributed to the fact that gloves sold in the U.S.A. are
now mostly imported products. For this reason it may be
concluded that in an effort to keep prices down and volume up,
the name brands have cut corners and diminished their quality.
There can be many other reasons for poorer gloves being
produced today, for example, lighter softer leathers used to ease
break-in and proliferation of man-made materials or vinyl substituting
for full grain leathers.
The most tragic example of this neglect is the Wilson A2000
models. The A2000 was arguably the finest mitt in the field.
Wilson's A2000 revolutionized the design of post-war gloves
and for many reasons became one of the most popular. Its
imported impostor is a sad shadow of its former self. Most
of the restoration repairs The Sports Doctor does are of these
older A2000s. Relining of these truly valuable gloves is
well worth it. Doc admires the design of these older A2000 gloves
and their high quality. Because of his admiration, he began
to make replicas incorporating all the best design and material
qualities of the A2000.
As a result, Golomb began making a complete line
of gloves, including some original designs. Hundreds of makes
and models have come through Pastime Preservation Repair Service,
enabling him to compile a century of know-how. As many mitts
as possible have been photographed, examined, patterned and replicated.
This accumulated information has made it possible for Doc to make
extremely accurate replicas of mitts for his Pastime Replica Baseball
glove line using just a photo or pictures from catalogs. The most popular requested replicas are
from the pre-war years, but interest in 1950s and 1960s models
is rapidly growing. Popular models include the Wilson Ball
Hawk (3 finger), the Rawlings Playmaker (4 finger), and the
Rawlings XPG-6 (Mickey Mantle model). Many of John's gloves
have been seen in movies, documentaries and commercials.
John Golomb boasts
one of the largest pattern achieve of glove models (over 800 patterns,
starting from the late 1880s to conventional present
designs) and America's only ambidextrous model which is
his original design.
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