At Show-Me-State Signatures we get a rare chance to see some pretty cool items. We occasionally get requests from customers to put extra insurance on items but its not every day we hit Fedex’s max insurance of $1000 on a single item. But Neil Barris is on a mission with his current HOF bat project and when he saw our Stan Musial signing announcement he knew he had to get his bat in the mail. We’ve seen a lot of multi-signed bats but this one is pretty impressive.
Front: Murray, Aaron, Banks, Ripkin, Dawson, Fisk, Berra, Robinson, Carter, Carew
Back: Eckersley, Carlton, Yount, Boggs, Robinson, Aparicio, Sandberg, Perry, Gossage
Once we saw this bat we decided to get in touch with its owner to see what we could find out about this project. Neil Barris is a hardcore collector from Staten Island, New York and he was happy to answer our questions:
ShowMeSigs: How long have you been collecting?
Neil: Approximately 10 years
ShowMeSigs: How did you start?
Neil:Got a Gift of a 16X20 signed picture of the triplets… Irvin, Aikman & Smith. I am a huge Cowboys fan. I actually have a pair of stadium seats from Texas Stadium.
ShowMeSigs: What sports/items/teams do you collect?
Neil:Anything and Everything… Except Soccer….
ShowMeSigs: What made you start this bat project?
Neil: Had just about finished my living 3000 hit club bat (missing Brett and Palmiero) and just felt the urge to start a new project. My goal is to get all living members of the HOF on it.
ShowMeSigs: Who was the first signature?
Neil: Actually got three the first time… Bench, Fisk, Berra
ShowMeSigs: How long have you been working on it?
About two years.
ShowMeSigs: How often does it get signed?
Neil: As often as I find HOF members signing. I prefer to be at the show getting in signed in front of my obviously, but with Musial’s age I really wanted to get his added now.
ShowMeSigs: If you don’t mind us asking, how much have you spent on it so far?
Neil: I’m not sure, I believe it’s about $3500.
ShowMeSigs: What is your favorite signatures on it?
Neil: Hank Aaron… my childhood idol
ShowMeSigs: Who do you see as the biggest upcoming challenge to add to the bat?
Neil: George Brett of course.
ShowMeSigs: Finally, are there any interesting stores about the bat/signers?
Neil: Well yes. When meeting Frank Robinson I knew his signature was pretty shaky and I had asked him to sign the back. He look up with a sad face and said… “but when you display, you won’t be able to see my name.” He wanted to sign on the sweetspot but I told him that was reserved for Hank Aaron. He argued that he was almost as good as Aaron so he should deserve to be on the front. How could I argue? He signed it on the front and it was nice chatting with him.
We want to thank Neil for sharing his stories with us! It’s a really great piece and we were happy to add Stan Musial to it for him.
Great story. I think that should be the main reason for someone to get an autograph. If it’s because the player was a childhood idol or hero, or the interaction with the player while getting it. Great way to pass on thier legacy while displaying thier name on your shelf. Thanks!