Barry Halper
Encyclopedia
Barry Halper was an extensive collector of baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

 memorabilia who had been a limited partner owning about 1% of the New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...

. During the auction of the collection, Sotheby's
Sotheby's
Sotheby's is the world's fourth oldest auction house in continuous operation.-History:The oldest auction house in operation is the Stockholms Auktionsverk founded in 1674, the second oldest is Göteborgs Auktionsverk founded in 1681 and third oldest being founded in 1731, all Swedish...

 Auction House called it the "World Series of Sports Auctions."

Life

Halper was born in 1939 and raised in Newark, New Jersey
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...

, living near Ruppert Stadium
Ruppert Stadium (Newark)
Ruppert Stadium was a baseball stadium that formerly stood in Newark, New Jersey, in the area now known as the Ironbound. Originally named Davids' Stadium, it was home to the minor league Newark Bears of the International League from 1926 to 1949 and the Newark Eagles of the Negro Leagues from 1936...

, home of the Newark Bears, then the Triple-A minor league farm team of the New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...

.

Halper attended the University of Miami
University of Miami
The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...

, where he was a pitcher for the baseball team. He then went into the his family's paper supply business, where he worked until the company closed in 1992.

A resident of New Vernon, New Jersey
New Vernon, New Jersey
New Vernon is an unincorporated area located in Harding Township in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. The village is within the boundaries of Harding Township along with a portion of Green Village. It is the location of the governmental offices for Harding Township...

 at the time of his death, Halper had been a longtime resident of Livingston, New Jersey
Livingston, New Jersey
Livingston is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township population was 29,366.Livingston was incorporated as a township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 5, 1813, from portions of Caldwell Township and Springfield...

. George Steinbrenner
George Steinbrenner
George Michael Steinbrenner III was an American businessman who was the principal owner and managing partner of Major League Baseball's New York Yankees. During Steinbrenner's 37-year ownership from 1973 to his death in July 2010, the longest in club history, the Yankees earned seven World Series...

 called Halper "a great baseball fan" who was a "dear friend, a valued partner for many years and a decent, genuine person".

Barry Halper died at Saint Barnabas Medical Center
Saint Barnabas Medical Center
Saint Barnabas Medical Center , an affiliate of the Barnabas Health , is a 597-bed non-profit major teaching hospital located in Livingston, New Jersey...

 in Livingston, New Jersey at the age of 66, in 2005 due to complications from diabetes.

Collection

Halper's baseball memorabilia collection was thought of as the finest, being both extensive and unusual. Many items, such as the uncut strip of T-206 cards with a Honus Wagner
Honus Wagner
-Louisville Colonels:Recognizing his talent, Barrow recommended Wagner to the Louisville Colonels. After some hesitation about his awkward figure, Wagner was signed by the Colonels, where he hit .338 in 61 games....

, were one of a kind. Halper's collection was housed in his basement, which had been outfitted like a small museum, including a hidden switch to a swing open panel, behind which were some of his most game-worn jerseys of famous players. The collection of game used jerseys included the only known examples of such players as Pud Galvin
Pud Galvin
James Francis Galvin , nicknamed "Pud", "Gentle Jeems", and "The Little Steam Engine", was an American National Association and Major League Baseball pitcher. He was Major League Baseball's first 300-game winner...

, Christy Mathewson
Christy Mathewson
Christopher "Christy" Mathewson , nicknamed "Big Six", "The Christian Gentleman", or "Matty", was an American Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He played his entire career in what is known as the dead-ball era...

, Cap Anson
Cap Anson
Adrian Constantine Anson , nicknamed "Cap" and "Pop", was a National Association and Major League Baseball first baseman...

, King Kelly
King Kelly
Michael Joseph "King" Kelly was an American right fielder, catcher, and manager in various professional American baseball leagues including the National League, International Association, Players' League, and the American Association. He spent the majority of his 16-season playing career with the...

, Dan Brouthers
Dan Brouthers
Dennis Joseph "Dan" Brouthers was an American first baseman in Major League Baseball whose career spanned the period from to , with a brief return in...

, and the famed trio of Tinker
Joe Tinker
Joseph Bert Tinker was a Major League Baseball player and manager. He is best known for his years with the Chicago Cubs dynasty which won four pennants between 1906 and 1910; and for his feud with double play partner Johnny Evers. Tinker was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in...

 / Evers
Johnny Evers
John Joseph Evers was a Major League Baseball player and manager. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1946...

 / Chance
Frank Chance
Frank Leroy Chance was a Major League Baseball player at the turn of the 20th century. Performing the roles of first baseman and manager, Chance led the Chicago Cubs to four National League championships in the span of five years and earned the nickname "The Peerless Leader".Chance was elected to...

. The infamous Joe Jackson
Shoeless Joe Jackson
Joseph Jefferson Jackson , nicknamed "Shoeless Joe", was an American baseball player who played Major League Baseball in the early part of the 20th century...

 was represented with jerseys from his minor league team as well as his Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...

 jersey. The collection of dead ball era player jerseys was unrivaled.

Some of the notable items in Halper's collection included:
  • Ty Cobb
    Ty Cobb
    Tyrus Raymond "Ty" Cobb , nicknamed "The Georgia Peach," was an American Major League Baseball outfielder. He was born in Narrows, Georgia...

    's autograph
    Autograph
    An autograph is a document transcribed entirely in the handwriting of its author, as opposed to a typeset document or one written by an amanuensis or a copyist; the meaning overlaps with that of the word holograph.Autograph also refers to a person's artistic signature...

    ed Philadelphia Athletics Jersey. (Sold for over 300,000 USD.)
  • Lou Gehrig
    Lou Gehrig
    Henry Louis "Lou" Gehrig , nicknamed "The Iron Horse" for his durability, was an American Major League Baseball first baseman. He played his entire 17-year baseball career for the New York Yankees . Gehrig set several major league records. He holds the record for most career grand slams...

    's last baseball glove
    Baseball glove
    A baseball glove or mitt is a large leather glove that baseball players on the defending team are allowed to wear to assist them in catching and fielding balls hit by a batter, or thrown by a teammate.-History:...

    . (Sold for nearly 400,000 USD.)
  • Cap Anson's Chicago White Sox jersey
  • A glove from Mickey Mantle
    Mickey Mantle
    Mickey Charles Mantle was an American professional baseball player. Mantle is regarded by many to be the greatest switch hitter of all time, and one of the greatest players in baseball history. Mantle was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974.Mantle was noted for his hitting...

    . (Purchased by Billy Crystal
    Billy Crystal
    William Edward "Billy" Crystal is an American actor, writer, producer, comedian and film director. He gained prominence in the 1970s for playing Jodie Dallas on the ABC sitcom Soap and became a Hollywood film star during the late 1980s and 1990s, appearing in the critical and box office successes...

     for over 230,000 USD.)
  • Mickey Mantle's New York Yankees
    New York Yankees
    The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...

     World Series
    World Series
    The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...

     Ring.
  • The signed sale agreement that marked Babe Ruth
    Babe Ruth
    George Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...

    's sale by the Boston Red Sox
    Boston Red Sox
    The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...

    , to the Yankees
  • A ticket to the first World Series.
  • Lou Gehrig's 's Yankees hat.
  • Ty Cobb's dentures
    Dentures
    Dentures are prosthetic devices constructed to replace missing teeth, and which are supported by surrounding soft and hard tissues of the oral cavity. Conventional dentures are removable, however there are many different denture designs, some which rely on bonding or clasping onto teeth or dental...

    .
  • King Kelly's New York jersey
  • Christy Mathewson's first minor league jersey (Taunton)


Following the Sotheby's auction, Halper remarked:
Sotheby's released a three-volume book, The Barry Halper Collection of Baseball Memorabilia, that included over 1,500 color photographs of the collection, giving history for many of the items, details about Halper's collection through the years, and a history of baseball.

In 1998, Halper sold the collection, with Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

 purchasing many items, donating them to the Baseball Hall of Fame. The rest were auction
Auction
An auction is a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bid, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder...

ed off by Sotheby's for a record 21.8 million USD.

Controversy

In October of 2010, Hall of Fame spokesman Brad Horn told the New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...

 that a Halper-donated jersey, supposedly worn by Shoeless Joe Jackson, was a fake. Horn stated that the logo utilized acrylic coloring first created in 1941. The jersey had been removed from display in 2008. Issues of authenticity have been raised with other auctioned items, including items purported to belong to Cy Young
Cy Young
Denton True "Cy" Young was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. During his 22-year baseball career , he pitched for five different teams. Young was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1937...

, Joe Dimaggio
Joe DiMaggio
Joseph Paul "Joe" DiMaggio , nicknamed "Joltin' Joe" and "The Yankee Clipper," was an American Major League Baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career for the New York Yankees. He is perhaps best known for his 56-game hitting streak , a record that still stands...

, Mickey Mantle
Mickey Mantle
Mickey Charles Mantle was an American professional baseball player. Mantle is regarded by many to be the greatest switch hitter of all time, and one of the greatest players in baseball history. Mantle was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974.Mantle was noted for his hitting...

, Ty Cobb
Ty Cobb
Tyrus Raymond "Ty" Cobb , nicknamed "The Georgia Peach," was an American Major League Baseball outfielder. He was born in Narrows, Georgia...

 , and others.

Subsequent reports alleged that scores of items in Halper's collection had been stolen from the Baseball Hall of Fame, the New York Public Library
New York Public Library
The New York Public Library is the largest public library in North America and is one of the United States' most significant research libraries...

, or other institutions. There have also been allegations that items in his collection were stolen from the wives or family members of deceased baseball stars.
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