Perhaps the most damaging piece in the Nash/Halper/Lifson saga yet...

[base_ball]

My name is Joseph Jesselli. I have sent Lifson an e-mail taking him up on his offer. I would hope that he would consider posting it for all of the board to see.

[base_ball]

I’ve communicated with Rob who, understandably, doesn’t want to air his feud with Nash in this forum. As for the very uniform turning up as a replica in an REA auction a decade after its donation to the Hall, Lifson said that the jersey was merely one of the neat items that was consigned by the Halper estate.

[hcv123]

Hi Rob,

I realize the guy behind this stuff is probably in ways a big dead beat and understand you have a judgement against him which he is at last check not paying. I understand he puts a "dramatic" spin on much of what he writes. I understand his character must be questioned. That stated, he is putting out what seems like some pretty distillable clear facts that beg to be responded to. Please. Are you claiming through your attorney that you didn't know this was the same jersey the hall of fame had been given? How could that be? How many '51 Mantle Jerseys - replica or otherwise could Barry have had? You are a very smart, respected guy - please help restore some confidence in your supporters out here - help us understand what we are missing - not by questioning who is writing this stuff, but by rebutting his facts. Please.

-Howard Chasser

[BrockJacob]

So the Hall of Fame, once determining the jersey was a fake, gave the jersey back to the Halper family so they could sell it again and make more money off it? Am I understanding that correctly?

[Robert_Lifson]

Howard, I had nothing to do with the Hall of Fame transaction, it predated the Halper auction, and when it occurred I had no idea what was even included. Halper did a lot of wheeling and dealing and had a million items. There was no way for us to even begin to know what Halper had, what he had gotten rid of, what went to the Hall of Fame, or what he kept. I have never been a jersey guy but just looking through a few old auction catalogs over the past day, I immediately found one 1951 Mantle uniform and believe there was another (sold by other auctions) that were sold in the 1990s and noted specifically as being from Barry Halper, so the answer to your question “How many '51 Mantle Jerseys - replica or otherwise could Barry have had?” is at least two, maybe three! (not including the limited edition signed 1951 Mantle jersey replicas, which he also had). This jersey in question was not in the 1999 Halper auction. I found it with his collection after his passing in 2005 and had no idea it had anything to do with the Hall of Fame. Our job was to auction the material in the estate. For this jersey, JSA said the autograph was real, but the jersey was not. It was still a great display piece that we thought a lot of collectors would want. We described it as a signed replica jersey. That’s how we describe jerseys that are not real but are signed and great for display.

Sincerely,

Robert Lifson

[roarfrom34]

Originally Posted by REA

Howard, I had nothing to do with the Hall of Fame transaction, it predated the Halper auction, and when it occurred I had no idea what was even included. Halper did a lot of wheeling and dealing and had a million items. There was no way for us to even begin to know what Halper had, what he had gotten rid of, what went to the Hall of Fame, or what he kept. I have never been a jersey guy but just looking through a few old auction catalogs over the past day, I immediately found one 1951 Mantle uniform and believe there was another (sold by other auctions) that were sold in the 1990s and noted specifically as being from Barry Halper, so the answer to your question “How many '51 Mantle Jerseys - replica or otherwise could Barry have had?” is at least two, maybe three! (not including the limited edition signed 1951 Mantle jersey replicas, which he also had). This jersey in question was not in the 1999 Halper auction. I found it with his collection after his passing in 2005 and had no idea it had anything to do with the Hall of Fame. Our job was to auction the material in the estate. For this jersey, JSA said the autograph was real, but the jersey was not. It was still a great display piece that we thought a lot of collectors would want. We described it as a signed replica jersey. That’s how we describe jerseys that are not real but are signed and great for display.

Sincerely,

Robert Lifson

I know JSA authenticates signatures, but I know they don't authenticate unforms...

The simple thing would be for the HOF to simply admit that the jersey in question is still in their archives (real or not).

Possibly the guy who did all the catalog/inventory work for Halper would know how many '51 replicas he had.

[roarfrom34]

I realize that this is somewhat unrelated to this post, but does anyone have any pictures from the Halper Hall of Fame exhibit (when they replicated his hobby room)? I would love to see what it looked like.

[hcv123]

Originally Posted by REA

Howard, I had nothing to do with the Hall of Fame transaction, it predated the Halper auction, and when it occurred I had no idea what was even included. Halper did a lot of wheeling and dealing and had a million items. There was no way for us to even begin to know what Halper had, what he had gotten rid of, what went to the Hall of Fame, or what he kept. I have never been a jersey guy but just looking through a few old auction catalogs over the past day, I immediately found one 1951 Mantle uniform and believe there was another (sold by other auctions) that were sold in the 1990s and noted specifically as being from Barry Halper, so the answer to your question “How many '51 Mantle Jerseys - replica or otherwise could Barry have had?” is at least two, maybe three! (not including the limited edition signed 1951 Mantle jersey replicas, which he also had). This jersey in question was not in the 1999 Halper auction. I found it with his collection after his passing in 2005 and had no idea it had anything to do with the Hall of Fame. Our job was to auction the material in the estate. For this jersey, JSA said the autograph was real, but the jersey was not. It was still a great display piece that we thought a lot of collectors would want. We described it as a signed replica jersey. That’s how we describe jerseys that are not real but are signed and great for display.

Sincerely,

Robert Lifson

Thank you.

[Exhibitman]

The article is misleading; how does "replica" repeatedly used in the title and the body of the auction listing mislead anyone?

[FUBAR]

is forging a replica even possible?? wouldn't it just be another replica?