The Kansas City Star’s Ward Triplett reports the KC-based Negro Leagues Baseball Museum has received a donation of nearly 200 autographed balls from Rush guitarist/vocalist Geddy Lee (link swiped from Baseball Think Factory).

It™s among the largest single donations the museum has had, according to director of marketing Bob Kendrick. It also represents some history the museum didn™t previously have.

œSome 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.

œMany people credit him with teaching Mays to hit a curve ball, Kendrick said.

Kendrick said the museum still needs to figure out how to display the baseballs, but just having Lee make the donation is a big plus for the museum