Scammers

I wandered into a very interesting and informative website tonight that investigates the sometimes insidious world of sports memorabilia collecting.
The website is www.haulsofshame.com.
One of the biggest scammers and peddlers of phony memorabilia was the late Barry Halper. Halper's collection was sold to the Hall of Fame for more than 7-million dollars following his 2005 death.
Upon closer inspection, many of the items he had were obtained fraudulently, as in stolen, or were sophisticated facsimiles.
Among the fake items that Halper passed off as genuine were a Cy Young jersey, a Ty Cobb diary, a Lou Gehrig glove and a Mickey Mantle jersey. There are many more items that were fraudulent.
Why the Hall of Fame hasn't gone after the Halper estate to recoup the money they spent on these bogus artifacts is a mystery.
Speaking of Halper, I interviewed him once during a minor league baseball broadcast. He was in the ballpark (Dutchess Stadium in New York) and I talked to him about his vast collection. Little did I know he was a con man.
Anyway, it is a fascinating website and I would encourage a visit, even if you are not into sports memorabilia.