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Randy TrierweilerI had the honor of knowing Mr. Barker. I started collecting in 1968 and by the mid 1970s, the St. Louis Sports Collectors group was in its infancy. We would meet a couple times a year at the Holiday Inn in Edwardsville, IL. Later the group moved to the St. Louis side as interest really grew in Sports Collectibles. Mr. Barker was a legend back then. He was the answer man when cards surfaced that nobody could identify. I was only 15 years old at the time and quite nervous about striking up a conversation with him. He put me at ease right away. I told him I was working on a 1963 Fleer Baseball set and couldn't find the checklist. I told him I've never even seen one. He said he thought he had an extra one laying around and would send it to me. A week later I got the checklist in the mail. No note or anything, just a free 1963 Fleer checklist. I probably saw him 10 more times before he died. He always remembered my name and would ask what sets I was working on. Whatever the set was, he gave me tons of information on the set. He was a virtual walking baseball card encyclopedia. In the mid to late 1970s, he would walk in to the St. Louis shows a couple hours after they opened with a shoebox or two of cards. The entire floor would flock over to his table to see what he had. Hunter Weiners, T206s, T202s, caramels, regionals, you name it. Some things you may not know about Mr. Barker: He died on November 24, 1982 from complications of gall bladder surgery and a removal of a tumor. He rode his bike for 37 years to his job as an Engineering Supervisor at the National Lead-Titanium Pigment Division in St. Louis. He was a dog lover and often gave them dog biscuits when riding his bike to work. He was a great man. Randy Trierweiler