Rare collection of baseballs on display in Guthrie museum

A rare collection of signed baseballs previously owned by former MLB Umpire George Barr of Tulsa has been loaned to the Oklahoma Sports Hall Of Fame Museum-Guthrie by Seminole State College to put on display.

The collection was put together by Barr while he was a ML Umpire from 1931 to 1949. George Barr and former Seminole State College President, Elmer Tanner were good friends and because of Seminole’s outstanding baseball program Barr donated the collection to the College in the 1970’s.

The collection is made up of some 200 baseballs and are autographed by some of the greatest MLB players and umpires of that time. Some of the most prominent players whose autographs are in the collection include Cy Young, Connie Mack, Ted Williams, Stan Musial, Joe Dimaggio, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Warren Spahn, Johnny Sain,1940’s-50 Dodgers -Jackie Robinson, Pee Wee Reece, Duke Snider, Roy Campanella, Hank Aaron, Dizzy Dean, Harry Breechen, etc. included in the collection are balls from special games.

The collection was made available by Coach Lloyd Simmons, Oklahoma Baseball Hall of Famer, and outstanding Coach for Seminole who also has also coached for the KC Royals. The Baseball Display stands in front of Coach Simmons HOF display in the OSHOFM.

Barr came to Tulsa in 1915 to work at the Tulsa Elks Club. He began umpiring Tulsa semi-pro games in 1923. After umpiring in the Western Association for 2 years he went to the Texas League for 5 years and then was called up to the Major League in 1931. His tenure in the Majors lasted until 1949 and included working several All Star games and calling the World Series in 1937, 1940, 1948 and 1949. He was behind the plate during Johnny Vander Meer’s second No-hitter in Brooklyn in 1938.

In those years Barr put together and outstanding collection of autographed baseballs to document his umpiring career. To preserve his career he donated the collection to Seminole State College and we are proud to have them on display here at the Oklahoma Sports HOF Museum – Guthrie. They can be seen at the Museum Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m.to 4 p.m. at 315 West Oklahoma Ave, or call 405-260-1342.