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Allan Byer’s baseball collection goes on exhibit.
Prior to exercising what he felt was his civic duty to join the owners’ group that kept the San Francisco Giants in the city,
Allan Byer, a leading California apparel manufacturer, just plain loved baseball.
As a kid growing up in Cincinnati, he rooted faithfully for his Reds. When his son, Alex Byer, began collecting baseball cards in his youth, Allan joined him at shows and started picking up a few baseballs for himself.
That collection eventually grew into 1,000 signed balls that he stored in what was to be the sewing room in the Hillsborough home he shares with his wife, Marian Byer. Then the signed bats moved in. And artwork and a treasure trove of baseball memorabilia followed suit.
Fortunately for Mrs. Byer, her husband’s collection has been sorted and categorized into a fantastic display, “Cooperstown S.F.: Hall of Fame Exhibit,” recently unveiled at a holiday party for the S.F. Giants Community Fund, of which Byer is a longtime trustee.
Expertly organized in shimmering vitrines are historic jerseys, balls, bats, caps, all worn by Baseball Hall of Fame players such as Jackie Robinson, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Hank Aaron along with all five living Giants Hall of Famers (Willie McCovey, Orlando Cepeda, Juan Marichal, Gaylord Perry, Willie Mays).
“It’s the West Coast version of Cooperstown
and a celebration of all things baseball, including the Giants,” explained Giants President Larry Baer, who plans to create his own Giants-centric museum when the team builds its Mission Rock project.
Byer worked in conjunction with Cooperstown. And he was supported by pals such as construction king Larry Nibbi, (also a Giants owner) and Cooperstown S.F. operations manager Ron Anderson. However, for the moment, this exhibit —which includes videos, news clips and even board games — is located across from the ballpark in a building that Byer owns (he borrowed back some space from restaurateur Peter Osborne) and it is not open to the public. Just yet.
Now retired, Byer isn’t ready to run another business. But he’s curious what fan interest might be and is open to queries regarding group or student tours (advisoryboard@cooperstownsf.com).
“It’s sort of a hall of fame without a hall,” Byer joked at the opening. “I’ve still got a few non-Hall of Fame baseballs, 840 to be exact, stored at home in that room which never got used for sewing.”
Breakfast of champions: For the ninth year in a row, we arose bright and early to attend the 7:45 a.m. (gulp) Tipping Point Awards Breakfast hosted by founder-CEO Daniel Lurie at the St. Regis hotel.
Which was a good thing, as this event honoring three of TP’s 47 grantees was (another) early-morning whopper filled with inspiration, major philanthropy, hope, social change and even a few tears. TP founding board member Chris
James shared his frustration that in the last 10 years of driving up Sixth Street, he has yet to see significant change in that poverty pocket.
“But in those 10 years,” he said, “Tipping Point has raised more than $100 million to fight poverty and has assisted more than 600,000 people.”
And two generous S.F. and Silicon Valley families have pledged to match (up to $1 million) all new and increased gifts made to Tipping Point through Jan. 5.
The success of Tipping Point’s poverty-fighting protocols were center stage among the honorees: Community Housing Partnership Executive Director Gail Gilman and her former client-turned-CHP property manager Akiko-Ariele White; StrideCenter Executive Director Barrie
Hathaway; Nurse-Family Partnership President-CEO Roxanne White; and Ann-Jané Osborne, a now-thriving new mother.
“There’s something that happens when a person you respect tells you they believe in you, then backs it up with their actions,” Hathaway said. “Tipping Point has done that for the Stride Center and we, in turn, are doing that for our clients.”
Lurie & Co. also recognized one of their own with the 2015 staff honoree award:
Nick Arevalo, a TP senior program officer of Impact & Learning, who triumphed over harrowing personal tragedy and poverty with support from relatives and educational guidance via a pre-college program in Sonoma County.
In absence of TP’s work in just the last year, Lurie said, 21,000 people wouldn’t have had the opportunity to diverge from the life they were born into.
“I’m not talking about those who signed up for city services,” Lurie explained. “I’m talking about 21,000 people crossing major finish lines — college graduation, sustained employment, rising wages and housing retention.”
Moments later, Lurie caught a glimpse of his wife, Levi’s exec Becca Prowda. His train of thought suddenly derailed as tears welled in his eyes.
“This work was taught to me by my parents (Rabbi Brian Lurie and Mimi
Haas). But not just my two parents but my four parents: Today is the 10th anniversary of the passing of my stepfather, Peter
Haas,” Lurie continued. “And I want to thank my mom, my dad, my siblings, Peter, my stepmom, Caroline, and my wife,” he said. “Without their support, this work wouldn’t be possible.”