The Rawlings Gold Glove Award usually referred to as the Gold Glove is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in both the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) as voted by the managers and coaches in each league.  Managers are not permitted to vote for their own players. Recently a sabermetric component provided by Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) was added and now accounts for approximately 25 percent of the vote.   Eighteen Gold Gloves are awarded each year (with the exception of 1957 1985 and 2007) one at each of the nine positions in each league. In 1957 the baseball glove manufacturer Rawlings created the Gold Glove Award trophy to commemorate the best fielding performance at each position.  The award was created from a glove made from gold lamé-tanned leather and affixed to a walnut base.  Initially only one Gold Glove per position was awarded to the top fielder at each position in Major League Baseball; however separate awards were given for the National and American Leagues beginning in 1958.

Presented here is a special display sample or possibly a salesman’s sample of Rawlings Gold Glove Award produced in 1959. Largely consistent in design with the Gold Gloves of the era the 15” tall by 16" wide trophy exhibits EX-MT condition with very minor handling wear.  This original vintage Rawlings produced award would make for an outstanding enhancement to any baseball memorabilia exhibit.