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Collectibles |
NEWSLETTER |
May 2023 |
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Softball Collectibles and Memorabilia |
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Steven KeyMan |
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By Steven KeyMan |
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Founder of
Keymancollectibles.com,
and a long time
collector, Steven
KeyMan has more than 30
years of experience in
researching, and
cataloging information
on Baseball
Memorabilia.
Researching his own personal
collection, and helping others find
information on their
collectibles, the
website grew into the
largest online resource
for baseball
memorabilia |
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Ask
Steven: Direct your questions or feedback,
about Baseball Memorabilia to Steven KeyMan
Steve@keymancollectibles.com You can also Send
KeyMan pictures of your personal Memorabilia Display,
and get your own Free
Collectors Showcase Room featured on the website.. |
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The game of softball traces it's
roots back to 1887. The game went under
various names through the years which
included; kitten baseball, diamond
ball, mush ball, pumpkin ball, and
indoor baseball. By 1930, the term
softball became the sport’s official
name. In 1934, the Joint Rules
Committee on Softball collaborated to
create a set of standardized rules.
Printed by the American Sports
Publishing Company from 1892 to 1941,
Spalding's Athletic Library books
covered over 30 different sports and
exercises, and over 20 different
organizations. The publishing company
was owned by A.G. Spalding.
Issued content included; cricket, baseball, indoor baseball, and
playground baseball. Group I
"Baseball," No. 12R of Spalding's
Athletic Library was the "Official
Rules of Playground baseball, also
known as Kittenball, Soft Ball, and
Twilight Ball." The book was issued in
1929, and sold for .25¢ the copy.
The
Spalding No. 12-F.P. 12 inch
circumference Official Playground ball
was first issued along with the No.
14-F.P. 14 inch circumference ball in
1924. Both balls featured a Patent
Applied for stamping. The inseam sewn
horsehide cover also featured red and
black stitching three-quarters
around the center of the ball.
By 1930 the bottom panel with the Spalding "tight stitch" baseball logo
and specifications reads "12 inch, Pat.
Nov. 4th. 1924." The 12 inch Playground
balls were used as a form of indoor
ball, (which lead to the game of
softball) but used where there is a
large playing space. It makes an ideal
ball for general recreation purposes,
where the players, on account of lack
of experience or practice might not
wish to use a hard ball.
J. deBeer and Son, Inc. was founded in
1889 by Jacob deBeer, a German Dutch
immigrant tanner that began making his
own baseballs in a converted barn in
Johnstown, N.Y., soon after baseball's
origin. In 1916 the business was moved
to Albany where Jacob was joined by his
son Fredrick who developed and patented
the
Clincher softball with its unique
protected seam in 1934.
The 1934-1935 Logo features: J. deBEER & SON ALBANY N.Y. atop the "DOUBLE
HEADER" Baseballs. Below reads: Maker -
TRADE MARK REG -.SINCE 1889. The sweet
spot reads "Reg US Patent Office,
U.S. PAT. 1,988,722" The 1934-1935,
box features the
the same logo.
Babe Didrikson was one of the greatest
female athletes of all time. Didrikson
excelled in track and field, golf,
basketball, played organized baseball
and softball. In 1934, Didrikson
pitched a total of four innings in
three Major League spring training
exhibition games. She also spent time
with the House of David barnstorming
team. In 1935, after losing her amateur
status, Didrikson signed a contract
with P. Goldsmith Sons company.
Under the terms of the indefinite contact, Didrikson was to promote the
company's supplies and appear in
exhibitions. In
1940 Goldsmith Issued
the BD10 "Babe" Didrikson Official
Softball bat. The first softball bat to
carry an athlete's endorsement.
 Founded in 1880, the
Ripon Knitting Works company of Ripon,
Wisconsin manufactured an extensive
line of casual footwear, slippers
socks, hosiery, leather gloves and
mittens. In 1942 the company won a
contract to manufacture work gloves for
the army and Navy. During the war the
company started producing baseball
gloves for the US Army. After the war
in 1946 Ripon issued their first
catalog to the Sporting Goods Trade.
The
No. 40 Softball glove featured a
pre-formed greased set picket. Fully
padded thumb, wrist, and little finger.
Adjustable thumb strap, and was
available in right and left hand
models. The 1948 model features raised
padding across the heel, and little
finger. Ripon also made a No. 41
"Custom Built pad" softball glove.
The PBSW Ramblers were one of two major
women's softball teams in Phoenix. The
Ramblers won National American Softball
championships in 1940, 1948 and 1949.
They played their home games at Phoenix
Municipal Stadium until July of 1950
when the team moved to Rambler Field.
National Softball Hall of Famers that played for the Arizona Ramblers
include; 11 x all-star, Margie Law,
Thelma Keith, Betty “Butch” Hamman, and
Dot Wilkinson also a member of the
international Bowling Hall of Fame.
The glamorous
gold and blue skinner, rayon & cotton
satin uniform was manufactured by
Powers Athletic Wear of Waterloo, Iowa.
Powers started out making horse collars
in 1900, and later began making spare
tire covers and fabric tops for
automobiles. The company began
manufacturing athletic wear in the
1920s.
 The Rawlings No. SB
Softball catchers mask first appears in
the catalogs around 1938. This style
frame was used by most manufactures
throughout the 1940s to through the
1960s. The deference being the padding
used, and how it was attached to the
frame. Around 1957 manufactures started
to use snaps to attached the padding to
the frame, but with softball masks,
they continued to use tie-on lacing for
a number of years later.
The
Rawlings SB official regulation
Softball masks featured; an open
vision, wire frame, with tie-on pads,
an adjustable elastic head harness,
with the Rawlings logo followed by SB.
Softball masks made after 1957 feature
the Registered Trademark ® below the
Rawlings script logo, when Rawlings
added it in 1958.
A manufacture of Baseball gloves, OK
MFG Co. and Sonnett Sporting Goods was
founded by William Sonnett who began
his work in the baseball glove
department at the P. Goldsmith Sons
company. In 1933, Sonnett started the
Ohio-Kentucky MFG Co. The WWII years
the company produced sporting goods for
servicemen as well as "barbed wire
gauntlets" so that troops could
maneuver into enemy territory.
This OK MFG Company No. 030 softball glove, produced for the
military
features a "U.S. Sept. 1948" stamp on
the back wristband. Common to softball
gloves of the era, it also features
raised padding across the heel, and
little finger.
Ken-Wel was a Sporting Goods company
established in Gloversville, NY around
1914 then relocated to New
Hartford, just across the border from
Utica, NY. Ken-Wel's innovative
baseball glove designs included the
1925 patent Dazzy Vance model that had
double laced fingers, and the Lou
Gehrig Zipper Back Baseman's Mitt.
This Ken-Wel No. K0I-12 100% Kapoc, 12 inch Official Softball features a Nov. 1948
stamp and was produced for use in the
military.
This
Adirondack Bats Inc. no. 181
Softball bat was produced during the
1958-1960 Bat manufacturing period. The
bulk of the value for a baseball bat
relies on the player endorsement, and
will vary based on player demand.
In general, Softball bats do not carry a player endorsement, and condition
becomes more important for value. Two
exceptions for player endorsed wooden
softball bats are the 1940-1944, Babe
Didrikson Goldsmith SB10 Official Soft
Ball
bat, and the 1968-1970s, Adirondack Eddie Feigner KING AND HIS COURT
official softball bat. Modern day
aluminum softball bats were endorsed by
Lisa Fernandez, Jennie Finch, and Dot
Richardson.
The
Roger Maris Official Zipee Practice
Softball No. 3149 was manufactured
by the New York based, Transogram Co.
Inc. The softball sized Zipee practice
ball was also made for Baseball, No.
3143. From 1962-1969 Transogram
produced a number of plastic Bat'N'Ball
sets and Zipee balls that featured the
head shot endorsements of star players
of the day such as; Willie Mays,
Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Harmon
Killebrew, Frank Robinson, Dick Groat,
Jim Gentile, Ernie Banks, Rocky
Calavito, and Tommy Davis.
Known as the greatest softball pitcher
who ever lived, Eddie Feigner first
assembled his four-man touring team,
known as "The King and His Court," in
1946. Almost unhittable, Feigner wanted
a two-man team of himself and catcher,
but added a third player in case an
opposing player got a hit. A fourth
player was needed in case all three of
his teammates were on base, there would
be someone to bat.
The Adirondack Eddie Feigner "King and His Court" official softball bats
were issued around 1968 through to the
1970s. The 1968-1971 No. 251 issue,
featured a crown after his barrel
endorsement. The 1971-1970s No. 181F
was issued with two Barrel variations
One reading "Official Softball" above
Eddie Feigner, and the other reads "Big
Stick"
From the late 1940s to the beginning
of the 21st century, Feigner's
meticulous records claim in over 10,000
exhibition games played; 9,743
victories, 141,517 strikeouts, 930
no-hitters and 238 perfect games.
At the 1967, First Annual All Star-Celebrity Softball Spectacular
exhibition game at Dodger Stadium,
Eddie Feigner, whose fastball had been
clocked at 104 MPH, faced a lineup of
six big leaguers, striking out all six
in order — Willie Mays, Roberto
Clemente, Brooks Robinson, Willie
McCovey, Maury Wills and Harmon
Killebrew.
The MacGregor No. SB6 Softball Glove
has the Eddie Feigner "The King" Logo
on the palm. Manufacturer stamping
includes; Hand Laced, "The Athletes
Choice" and Pro Grip Pocket.
The back features; he MacGregor script logo on the thumb, above "Rawhide
Lace," the MacGregor crown cloth patch
on the wrist strap, and reads
"Softball" on the crouch of the web.
The glove tag pictures Eddie Feigner in his King and His Court softball
jersey. It notes that he's a "Member of
the MacGregor advisory staff" The back
lists Eddies lifetime pitching up to
1980. "© 1981 MacGregor, East
Rutherford NJ 07073" at the bottom.
MacGregor also issued a MG55 model.
An annual event since 2001, the
All-Star Legends and Celebrity Softball
Game brings former Major League
Baseball all-stars and celebrities
together in a friendly exhibition. The
game is played the day before the Home
Run Derby. It was sponsored by
RadioShack and Taco Bell until 2021.
The 2002 game, played on Sunday, July 7, 2002 at Miller Park in Milwaukee,
Wisconsin, was sponsored by Radio
Shack. The participants in the 2002
All-Star Legends & Celebrity game
featured ex-baseball players and
Celebrities which included:
Ernie Banks, George Brett, Don Mattingly, race car driver Dale Earnhardt,
Jr., Meat Loaf, Coolio, Kevin James,
and ex-football player Howie Long
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