For the first several years of his career, Dwight Gooden was one of the best and most exciting young players in baseball. The National League Rookie of the Year in 1984 and Cy Young Award winner in 1985, Gooden made four All-Star teams in the first five years of his career. From the time he was 19 until his age 25 season, Gooden won 119 games while racking up 1,391 strikeouts and 20 shutouts.

Gooden used this Rawlings HOH-80TF model glove during his rookie 1984 season. This glove displays heavy game use and is made top grade tanned “Heart of the Hide” steer hide bound with tanned rawhide laces. There is a “Trap-Eze” style webbing and the Rawlings patch is sewn on the outer wrist. The Rawlings circle “R” logo is on the outer thumb. Gooden’s “16” and “DOC” are handwritten in black marker on the outer index finger and thumb. Gooden has signed this glove in blue marker twice on the inside of the glove (please note that Gooden’s signatures displays some bleeding) and on the outer index finger. Gooden inscribed on the inside “Wow! My Old Glove” and on the outside “Rookie Glove 1984”. Also included in this lot is an 8 ½ x 11-inch color photograph of Gooden and an unidentified man and Gooden holding this glove. The photograph has been signed and inscribed in blue marker “To Steve Best Wishes”. This glove comes with a LOA from PSA/DNA (1G00495) for the game use and a LOA from JSA (BB12398) for the signatures on the glove.

Auction Notepad