One of the most beloved Yankees of all-time, catcher and captain Thurman Munson died while practicing landings in his own Cessna plane during the 1979 season. The tough-nosed, hard-hitting perennial All-Star known for his rugged good looks and consistently dirty uniform remains the only Yankee to have won both the Rookie of the Year (1970) and Most Valuable Player (1976) awards. This is only the second Munson game-used mitt that we know of, and you would be hard-pressed to find a better one. The tan, Rawlings RL "Hart of the Hide for the Professional Player" model catcher's mitt, manufactured by Rawlings in 1968 and the label is still attached. It is a traditional model NU-GRIP STREAMLINED mitt with conventional back, extended palm and deep well pocket. The glove was designed by Rollie Latina from the Pro-Stock Original, measures 33," and the pattern is cut from Horween leather. "T. MUNSON 15" is written in faded marker in the webbing and could be in Munson's own hand. On the back of the thumb is "15" in faded marker. On the back of the pinky finger is "15 MUNTZ," written in black marker. There is terrific use, including his rookie season of 1969. There is a slight tear in the pocket, and evidence of pine tar. On the back of the glove there is a 2-and-a-half" notch cut from the leather near the back middle fingers for an unexplained reason. We believe this was done for a better grip by Munson, who gave this glove directly to his pitching coach, former major league player Art Fowler. Comes with an LOA from the Fowler family. Also included is a detailed LOA from glove guru Dennis Eskin. After having been selected fourth overall in the 1968 amateur draft, Munson roared through the minor leagues and blasted onto the big-league scene late in 1969, then hit .302 during his exceptional rookie campaign of 1970. The Akron, Ohio native was described as the "heart and soul of the Yankees" and his locker remained vacant from the time of his death until Yankee Stadium closed its doors in 2008. That entire locker stall has since been moved, intact, to the new stadium's museum.