News

Aug 02, 2023

Missing baseball glove returned to Donald Holcomb at Polar Park

WORCESTER — The search for 87-year-old Donald Holcomb’s baseball glove is finally over. After catching a ceremonial first pitch prior to the WooSox game on June 10, Holcomb, a longtime resident of

WORCESTER — The search for 87-year-old Donald Holcomb’s baseball glove is finally over.

After catching a ceremonial first pitch prior to the WooSox game on June 10, Holcomb, a longtime resident of Palmer who now lives in Chicopee, realized his first baseman’s mitt was missing. And for over a month, Holcomb thought he’d never see his beloved glove again.

“At that point, I said to myself, ‘Well, my glove is never coming back,’ ” Holcomb said.

But on July 18, a member of the WooSox staff reunited Holcomb with his mitt just outside of Polar Park.

“I was like a two-year-old with a new toy,” Holcomb said. “Tears were just flowing down my face. I was so glad to have my glove back.”

Once Holcomb realized he misplaced his glove last month, his daughter, Kimberly Gallagher, went to Facebook to post a message that implored “family, friends, anyone and everyone” to help spread the word about her father’s missing mitt.

The glove, which Holcomb bought in 2000 and has been using for the past 23 years as a member of the Western Mass Relics Senior Softball League, holds a special spot in Holcomb’s heart.

“It’s had a lot of sentimental value over the years,” Gallagher said.

Recently, two of the WooSox’ interns from the Shrewsbury RISE program were sorting through lost-and-found items when their supervisor recognized the glove from social media posts.

Shortly after, WooSox coordinator of marketing and fan engagement George Lorin contacted Gallagher and coordinated a time for Holcomb — and his daughters Gallagher and Dawn Carr — to come by Polar Park to pick up the prized possession.

And when Lorin presented Holcomb with his glove last week, emotions poured out of the 87-year-old.

“He was a kid in the candy store,” Gallagher said.

Said Lorin: “The joy was written all over Don’s face.”

“It means the world to me,” Holcomb added.

It was a cheerful conclusion to a strenuous situation for Donald Holcomb, who finally reunited with his beloved baseball glove.

“It’s truly a happy ending to a story and it couldn’t happen to a better person,” Gallagher said. “My dad is a really good guy, and I'm just happy he’s got it back.

“It’s just a miracle that it turned out to be this way.”

— Contact Tommy Cassell at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @tommycassell44.