Barry Halper

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Posted By: Jodi Birkholm

It's a shame that Engleberg got in the way. Above all, Halper was a true fan of the game, and especially the Yankees. He was obviously independently wealthy and had no interest in abusing the relationship as Engleberg alluded to in his DiMag memoir. Joe was not the sharpest tool in the shed, and the uber-private demeanor that he was so famous for was, in reality, just a way for him to make it through life without being taken too much advantage of. Unfortunately, his facade was not enough to get him through to the end. By the 1980's, Joe's fortune had dwindled down to a paltry $300,000 or thereabouts. To Engleberg's defense, he certainly played a part in getting Joe back on solid financial ground. How much of the new earnings he took for himself, however, nobody knows. After reading Engleberg's book, in which he feebly attempted to whitewash his relationship with DiMaggio, I was left utterly disgusted. You would figure that somebody who was educated in making others believe your statements would be a lot more convincing. Instead, the opposite shone through.

As far as Halper is concerned, I can say that the few letters we exchanged were very positive. Twenty years ago, I wrote him requesting opinions on certain pieces of Yankee memorabilia I then owned. With zero condescension, he kindly replied each time in short order and was very encouraging. It seems to me that Halper really did look upon every collector equally, no matter what their collection consisted of. He never lost the passion that first inspired him as a youngster, and was the first in line to share experiences and encourage younger collectors.