Barrie Sullivan Sad News

[Rich Klein]

I hope Doug Allen does not get upset I cut and pasted his tribute to Barrie, but Mr. Sullivan has been an influential hobbyists and dealer for many years.

Mourning the Passing of Hobby Friend and Pioneer Barrie Sullivan II

Please say a prayer for Sandy Sullivan and her family who today lost husband and father Barrie Sullivan to his long fight against an inoperable brain tumor.

Barrie Sullivan was a hobby pioneer and collector for the better part of 60 years. Over a decade ago he parted ways with many of his high-end autographs, programs and memorabilia pieces. His collection was world class just like he was. I got a call last summer from his wife Sandy who simply said "our Barrie is not doing well" so Ron Oser and I flew out to Colorado to spend some time with him. We had become friends over the past 10 years or so and he would hang out with our staff at the National Convention each year. Even though his collecting days were primarily behind him he still loved to upgrade his 1952 Topps set and work on other favorite sets. After the visit, with the approval of his wife, I put calls into other hobby icons like Irv Lerner, Pat Quinn, Bruce Paynter and Marshall Fogel to let them know what was going on. As a matter of fact it was Marshall who referred to Barrie a true hobby pioneer.

In early December, months past the life expectancy given to him by the doctors, Barrie called me on the phone. Even though his speech was impacted he sounded really good and asked me to come out to help straighten some affairs so his family would not have to deal with it. What a fighter. So I flew to Denver and spent a couple days reminiscing with him and Sandy. The second day was literally spent sitting on the floor of his foyer going through baseball cards and autographs. Almost everything had a story and unfortunately his medical condition made it so hard to express the words he had formulated in his mind. In the current auction we are offering among other things his T206 set, 1952 Topps set and a bunch of autographed items. As a matter of fact lot #589 in the current auction is the original autograph book he assembled in 1950, sold in the early '70s and then re-acquired in 1989 when it again became available.

The bottom line is I considered Barrie a true friend and he will be greatly missed. Please keep Sandy and the rest of his family in your thoughts and prayers as they go through this very difficult time.

Rest in Peace, Barrie.

Doug Allen
President & CEO