Montezuma man repurposes old baseball gloves

A life-long love of baseball has led ta Montezuma man to a unique hobby

John Dodds, a former minister and baseball fan, makes and sells wallets made from old baseball gloves.

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Dodds finds old baseball gloves at Goodwill, estate sales, garage sales and rummage sales, cuts them and sews them into wallets.

Many of them feature names of well-known major league baseball players such as former Kansas City Royals star George Brett, Micky Mantle, Derrick Jeter, Bobby Bonds, Jim “Catfish” Hunter and Ted Sizemore.

“The history of that glove,” said Dodds. “Some kid played with that glove and now it has a new usefulness.”

Dodds came up with the idea when he saw some baseball glove wallets on E-bay.

“They wanted $100 and up for just a wallet,” Dodds said. “I thought I could make something like that, but more reasonable.”

Dodds said he found a kit at Tandy Leather in Ankeny on how to make wallets.

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“I bought the kit and learned how to make them,” he said. “I try to use as much of the glove as I can.”

He’s been selling them at craft shows and various events for six years.

Dodds grew up in the 1950s and 60s in Mitchell, Indiana, a small town of 5,000 residents in the southern part of the Hoosier state.

He recalled riding his Schwinn Stingray bicycle with the neighborhood kids and watching the New York Yankees and Micky Mantle play baseball.

“I liked him (Mantle) because he had a cool name,” said Dodds. “A lot of kids back then were Yankees fans. It was a time when baseball was truly an American pastime.”

In high school, Dodds had a dream of playing in the big leagues, but that never materialized. He played baseball three years through his junior year and ran cross-country for two years, enough to earn him a letter jacket.

Following high school graduation in 1969, Dodds decided to become a teacher.

While attending community college, where he was studying elementary education, Dodds said he became acquainted with a young man who shared his faith with him.

“He invited me to a revival service where I asked Jesus into my heart,” recalled Dodds.

After spending some time in prayer, Dodds felt God calling him to preach the gospel, so he switched gears and enrolled in Nazarene College in Kankakee, Illinois, where he went on to earn his bachelors in religion.

Dodds attended Nazarene Seminary in Kansas City and preached Sundays at a church in Missouri. After graduating in 1980, Dodds ministered in churches in Arkansas, Illinois, Oklahoma and Iowa.

While ministering in Oklahoma City, Dodds served two years as chaplain with the Oklahoma City 89s baseball team. The 89s were a Triple-A farm team for the Texas Rangers.

“I didn’t get a chance to play baseball professionally, but I did get a chance to minister to some major league baseball players,” said Dodds. “I sure enjoyed that.”

While in OKC, Dodds said he asked the coach if he could shag a fly ball in the outfield.

“I lost the ball in the atmosphere and didn’t catch it,” he said with a chuckle.

He landed in Brooklyn in 2005, where he ministered at the Grace United Methodist Church for a number of years. He last ministered at a church in Carlisle before retiring a few years ago, getting remarried and settling in Montezuma.

After sharing more memories and life stories, Dodds stopped, gathered his thoughts and said, “People will forget everything about you, except how you made them feel.”

Dodds’ wallets are cut and designed to hold credit cards, driver's licenses and other important cards. Dodds sells them for $40.

Anyone interested in purchasing a baseball wallet can reach Dodds at 515-229-8348.