GoldSmith Elmer Riddle Model “DW” – Stamped “U.S. Army”

In business since 1875, the Cincinnati, Ohio-based sporting good manufacturing company, GoldSmith was one of the oldest baseball glove manufacturers. After acquiring golf-manufacturer MacGregor in the 1940s, the GoldSmith name was gradually phased out by the mid-1950s. As late as 2008, gloves low-end retail baseball gloves made in Asia were still carrying the MacGregor label. Today, the MacGregor company is dedicated entirely to golf, having returned to its roots.

The Elmer Riddle signature model gloves made by GoldSmith are the most plentiful military gloves on the collector market, likely due to being produced in the greatest numbers. Gloves made early in the war feature a laced heel and are marked with “DW” on the heel pad below the GoldSmith logo that is situated in the palm. These early war gloves are all marked for thee respective service branches: “U.S.N.” for Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard, and “U.S. Army” for Army and Army Air Forces.

This early-war split-finger Elmer Riddle signature “DW” Model features an “H” web and black leather edge binding. The wrist strap is stamped with “U.S. Army.” Note the laced heel indicative of early-WWII manufacturing.