Dec. 29, 2010

Barry Halper even fooled "The Mick" with his alleged #6 1951 Mantle rookie jersey. This photo and graphic appeared in the Baseball Hall of Fame's official tourist brochure for the 1999-2001 Barry Halper Gallery. The jersey pictured was a forgery purchased by MLB and later returned to Halper by the Hall of Fame. After Halper's death it was sold in 2007 by REA as a "replica."

2010 unleashed a host of investigative reports that blew the lid off long-standing hobby frauds and hoaxes that had been covered up for decades. Haulsofshame.com reported on controversial issues that the press ignored and refused to tackle themselves.  The reports published resulted in:  the Baseball Hall of Fame admitting their alleged “Shoeless Joe” Jackson jersey was a fake; the exposure of Barry Halper and Al Stump as the perpetrators of frauds; the confirmation that the National Baseball Library, the New York Public Library and the Archives of Hawaii were victimized in massive thefts; and that Baseball power-brokers like Bud Selig and Jane Forbes Clark were swindled by one of their own.

When Haulsofshame.com first launched this past Spring, we had a few thousand unique visitors for the month of April.  By November we were averaging over 15,000 visitors per month and by the new year, the visits are fast approaching the 20,000 mark.  Special thanks go out to all of our readers for their continued support. 

 Here’s a look back at the Investigative Reports of 2010:

1.  Hauls of Shame Reports “Shoeless Joe” Jackson’s 1919 Jersey at the Hall of Fame is a Fake;  Cooperstown Officials Confirm Report:

http://haulsofshame.com/blog/?m=201008

http://haulsofshame.com/blog/?m=201009

2.  SABR’s Ron Cobb Exposes Al Stump’s Relic and Literary Fraud Against Ty Cobb . Barry Halper’s Infamous Cobb Shotgun Uncovered as a Fake. 

http://haulsofshame.com/blog/?p=874

3.  Barry Halper Dupes Mickey Mantle, the Baseball Hall of Fame and MLB with a Bogus 1951 “Rookie” Jersey Attributed to “The Mick”

http://haulsofshame.com/blog/?m=201010

4.  Mike Gutierrez of  Antiques Roadshow Linked to HOF Theft and Banishment.  Cooperstown Thefts in 1980s Tied to Current Heritage Auction Sales

http://haulsofshame.com/blog/?m=201011

http://haulsofshame.com/blog/?p=536

http://haulsofshame.com/blog/?p=47

5.  FBI Investigation Links Barry Halper to Stolen Harry Wright Letters From NYPL’s  Famous Spalding Collection 

http://haulsofshame.com/blog/?p=1443

6.  Historian John Thorn Discovers Knickerbocker Score Sheets From Storied Game of 1846 are Missing from the NYPL’s Spalding Collection

http://haulsofshame.com/blog/?p=3

7.  Famous 1865 Cartwright Letter to Knickerbocker Teammate Confirmed Stolen from the Archives of Hawaii

http://haulsofshame.com/blog/?p=475

8.  Hauls of Shame Releases the “10 Most Wanted Missing National Baseball Treasures List”

http://haulsofshame.com/blog/?p=226

9.  Dave Grob’s Red Sox Uniform Nightmare: Jerseys of Cy Young and Jimmy Collins Analyzed

http://haulsofshame.com/blog/?p=2777

10.  Babe Ruth’s Will Confirmed Stolen From NYC Courthouse

http://haulsofshame.com/blog/?p=775

11. Bud Selig Thinks Abner Doubleday Invented Baseball; Doubleday Docs Missing from NYS Archives: Pioneer Docs Missing from HOF

http://haulsofshame.com/blog/?p=2347

http://haulsofshame.com/blog/?p=2250

12. Wills of Baseball Hall of Famer Harry Wright and Others Still Missing after Thefts in the 1990s

http://haulsofshame.com/blog/?p=573

13. Cooperstown Thefts Uncovered: Robert Edward Auctions Offers Rare Mickey Welch Card Stolen From Hall; Stolen Christy Mathewson and Jake Beckley Cabinet Cards Have HOF Ownership Marks 

 http://haulsofshame.com/blog/?p=84

http://haulsofshame.com/blog/?p=1639

http://haulsofshame.com/blog/?p=692

14.  Sotheby’s and Barry Halper Sell Stolen Boston Contract and Letter Awarding Boston the Pennant of 1875

http://haulsofshame.com/blog/?p=334

http://haulsofshame.com/blog/?p=165

15. Ty Cobb Letters Swiped from the Archives of The Sporting News are Recovered

http://haulsofshame.com/blog/?p=639

After Haulsofshame.com published a report claiming that the HOFs alleged 1919 "Shoeless Joe" Jackson jersey was a fake, the NY POST, on Oct. 4, 2010, (above) reported that the Hall of Fame admitted the jersey was fraudulent.