So, I got this idea stuck in my head a while back about “blue ribbon baseball”. It wasn’t about some fancy league or anything, not really. It was about this specific baseball glove I had as a kid. I swear it had “Blue Ribbon” stamped into the leather, or maybe it was on a little cloth tag sewn in. It felt like quality, you know? The kind of thing that lasted.
Anyway, I got a bit nostalgic and decided I’d try and find one. Just to see it again, maybe feel that old leather. Seemed simple enough at first. I figured, hop online, type it in, and boom. Well, not quite.
The Hunt Began
I started digging around on those auction sites, collectors’ forums, even virtual flea markets. Found plenty of old gloves, sure. Some real beauties from the big names. But nothing quite matched the picture I had in my head. No “Blue Ribbon” brand popping up. It was weird. Made me wonder if I’d just imagined the name, or maybe it was some super obscure, local thing from way back when.
I spent a few weekends hitting up actual flea markets and antique shops too. You meet interesting folks doing that. Lots of stories. Found some cool stuff, like an old wooden bat that felt amazing, but no luck on the glove. It was getting a bit frustrating, honestly. You start something thinking it’ll be a quick trip down memory lane, and it turns into a real search.
This whole thing got me thinking, though. Why was I so fixated on this specific glove? It wasn’t like I was a star player or anything close. Pretty average, actually. But that glove… I remembered playing catch with my dad in the backyard. Hours and hours. Maybe the glove wasn’t even that special, objectively. Maybe it was just tied to those memories. You know how your mind plays tricks, makes things from your childhood seem grander?
It also made me think about what “blue ribbon” even means now. Back then, it felt like it stood for something solid, well-made. Nowadays, everything feels a bit disposable. You buy something, it breaks, you toss it, get a new one. Finding something old that was built to last feels different. Maybe that’s what I was really looking for.
Finding Something… Close
After weeks of searching, I stumbled upon an old, beat-up glove online. The listing pictures were blurry, the description vague. But there was something about the shape, the stitching… it looked familiar. Didn’t say “Blue Ribbon” anywhere the seller could see, but I took a gamble. Wasn’t expensive.
When it arrived, it smelled like old leather and dust. Perfect. I spent an afternoon cleaning it up. Used some saddle soap, worked it into the leather real slow. It wasn’t the exact glove, I’m pretty sure of that now. The webbing was a bit different from what I remembered. And still no “Blue Ribbon” mark anywhere I could find.
But you know what? Holding it, working the oil into it, it felt good. It felt real. Close enough, I guess. It’s sitting on my shelf now. Doesn’t get used for playing catch, obviously, but I pick it up sometimes. It’s a reminder. Not just of playing ball, but of the search itself, and thinking about what quality and memory really mean. The whole process turned out to be more interesting than just finding the exact thing right away.
