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 Geddy Lee, the legendary bassist, vocalist and keyboardist for the Canadian prog rock band Rush has donated 200 signed baseballs by former players or backers, marking the single largest donation to the Negro Leagues Museum to date, according to director of marketing, Bob Kendrick.
As reported by Kansas City Star: “Some of these guys have been dead for some time, and we could not get these (signatures) before no matter what their significance was in the Negro Leagues,” he said. There are famous names like Cool Papa Bell, Hank Aaron and Lionel Hampton, a famous fan of the leagues. Then there are men like Fireball Bill Beverly and Piper Davis, who would go on to manage Willie Mays in his early days in the league. “Many people credit him with teaching Mays to hit a curve ball,” Kendrick said.
Lee, along with Alex Lifeson (guitars), and Neil Peart (percussion, lyrics), have been a staple of progressive and mainstream rock for over 30 years, churning out 19 studio albums and 7 live albums. All three claim to be baseball fans, going so far as to credit themselves by playing position in liner notes. Lee, however, seems to be the most avid fan, as noted by his donation, his appearances in ESPN’s Baseball Tonight television ads, his frequent sightings at Toronto Blue Jays games, and taking BP, as noted in this undated image.
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