Barry Halper, noted memorabilia collector, dies at 66
deb...@comcast.net
Barry Halper, noted memorabilia collector, dies at 66
Associated Press
LIVINGSTON, N.J. -- Barry Halper, owner of one of the most extensive
collections of baseball memorabilia and a limited partner in the New
York Yankees, has died at 66.
Halper, who died Sunday at Saint Barnabas Medical Center, was bedridden
for nearly a year because of complications of diabetes, said Marty
Appel, a longtime friend and former Yankees spokesman.
A portion of his Halper's collection was acquired by Major League
Baseball and donated to the Hall of Fame in 1998. Halper also fetched
$21.8 million -- a record for sports memorabilia -- during a weeklong
auction at Sotheby's in 1999. Included in that sale was a game-used
Mickey Mantle glove, purchased by actor-comedian Billy Crystal for
$239,000.
"Barry was a dear friend, a valued partner for many years and a decent,
genuine person," Yankees owner George Steinbrenner said in a statement.
"What a great baseball fan he was. I'll miss him dearly."
Halper amassed some 80,000 items, including uniforms of many Hall of
Famers, an original ticket from the first World Series in 1903 and the
jersey Lou Gehrig wore in his farewell speech at Yankee Stadium in
1939. Halper also owned oddities such as the false teeth worn by Ty
Cobb, baseball's career batting average leader.
Also in Halper's collection were uniforms worn by Cobb, Walter Johnson,
Cy Young and Mantle, during his rookie season in 1951. Halper also had
the contract finalizing the sale of Babe Ruth from the Boston Red Sox
to the Yankees, and a Honus Wagner baseball card.
Survivors include Halper's wife, Sharon; sons Steven and Jason; and
daughter, Marnie Stark.
Funeral services are Tuesday at Temple B'Nai Jeshurun in Short Hills.
Bill Schenley
> Associated Press
> LIVINGSTON, N.J. -- Barry Halper, owner of one of the
> most extensive collections of baseball memorabilia and a
> limited partner in the New York Yankees, has died at 66.
Shocking!
In the early to mid-1980s ... my wife and I had a sports memorabilia
store in Somerset, New Jersey ... pretty close to Barry Halper's home.
He came in a few times ... and we traded a few things ... and he was
instrumental in getting me involved in promoting signing shows.
Thinking back ... I only met him a few times ... and talked to him on
the phone ... maybe 30-40 times ... but it seems like I have an
endless supply of Barry Halper stories.
He brokered a baseball card deal for me ... One that made me a lot of
money at the time ... and he never asked for a penny.
And going to his house was as cool ... and more fun than going to the
Baseball Hall of Fame ... except he never wanted you to touch
anything. When he came down to my home (in Ocean Grove, NJ) ... I
told him that it was okay to touch anything he wanted. Made him
laugh.
When he came to the house ... I was looking at a New York Yankee
encyclopedia. It was signed by several Yankees. A few days later he
sent me a new encyclopedia ... with a note suggesting that I read the
new one ... and put the other one away.
IIRC, his memorabilia collection was valued close to $50,000.000.00.
Very cool guy. Sorry to read about his death.
AndrewJ
Cobb, baseball's career batting average leader.
Halper also had the rifle Ty Cobb's mom used to shoot and kill Ty's dad
with. Classy collection.
-- Andrew
Hyfler/Rosner
"Bill Schenley" <stra...@ma.rr.com> wrote in message
>
> And going to his house was as cool ... and more fun than
> going to the
> Baseball Hall of Fame ... except he never wanted you to
> touch
> anything.
Ditto for me. I used a fair number of articles from his
collection in the commercials I made with Joe D.