Louisville Sluggeer Sues Halper Over Contracts

Baseball Bat Maker Sues Collector Over Old Contracts

Louisville Slugger claims documents were stolen

Newark, New Jersey, August 30, 2000 -- Louisville Slugger maker Hillerich & Bradsby Co. has filed a lawsuit against prominent memorabilia collector Barry Halper, seeking return of original baseball contracts that were a part of Halper's collection.. The Kentucky company thought for years that its original contracts with hitters like Hank Aaron, Mickey Mantle, Ted Williams and about 70 other major leaguers were destroyed in a move. However, Hillerich & Bradsby now claim that they learned the contracts do in fact still exist as they are among the items listed for thousands of dollars in The Barry Halper Collection of Baseball Memorabilia.

Now, Hillerich & Bradsby wants them back, claiming that the contracts were stolen by a former employee and sold twice before being bought by Halper, a New Jersey businessman and minority owner of the New York Yankees. The company sued Halper for the return of the contracts.

Halper's lawyer Joseph Pecora has stated that both sides agree that Halper bought the contracts from Josh Evans, a memorabilia collector in Louisville, Kentucky. The lawsuit alleges that Evans then sold them to Halper after acquiring them from a former Hillerich & Bradsby employee who stole about 76 player contracts from a locked storage room between 1985 and 1990.

Young ballplayers signed the contracts with Hillerich & Bradsby often while still in the minor leagues. The contracts allowed the company to use the players' names and likenesses in its advertising. In return Hillerich & Bradsby provided the players with custom-made bats with their names burned into the barrels.

Andrew Geiger