Tickets!

[Rhotchkiss]

I started buying tickets this year. In the past, I looked at, and in some cases bid on, some very iconic tickets, like the Jackie Robinson Debut and Game 1 World Series tickets, but I never went beyond that. Over the summer I acquired a Jackie Robinson Debut Ticket, which I have since upgraded to the one pictured below. That ticket sparked a fire in me - I love tickets! Here is why:

1. They are rare. Like prewar cards, few people thought to retain/collect tickets. They were utilitarian - they got you into a game. But unlike prewar cards, their populations are so much smaller, since they only printed enough for that game/event in that venue.

2. They were there (usually). Below is an Aaron Debut ticket. There can only be as many of those as the stadium held that day. And that ticket marks the day, not the year, that Hank Aaron began his major league baseball career. The all time home run leader, who passed the untouchable Babe Ruth, started that journey that day, and that ticket was there. (I say sometimes because full tickets from older events usually means the event went unattended by that ticket owner).

3. They are very investable. This is perhaps my biggest reason for buying tickets (making this thread, admittedly, somewhat self-serving). Cards are super hot (perhaps too hot) and super expensive. To me, tickets are the most card-adjacent collectible out there. I believe disillusioned card collectors and investors feeling there is little juice left to squeeze out of card values will migrate to tickets -- I mean, many cards have gone up 200%-400%++ since 2020, how much more can they really go up over the next 5-10 years? Plus, the ticket world is very fragmented -- there are no price guides, the pop reports are suspect, grading standards are fluid, etc. All of this keeps most investor money away -- investors like certainty. As the ticket world grows less fragmented, information becomes more exact thus attracting the investor, which in turn drives demand and increases prices.

4. They are the right size. Most tickets fit in a standard PSA card flip or post card flip. They are easy to store, they are easy to display, they are easy to transfer. As card collectors, we have grown very comfortable with the size of cards; perhaps this is why cabinets and to a lesser degree post cards are not as popular, and why, I think, memorabilia is largely less valuable than cards. Tickets are generally the same size as cards, and size does matter in this hobby.

5. They are diverse and dynamic You can collect debuts, special events, sports, movies, concerts, every game of a streak, every game of a series, every game of someone's rookie year, every touchdown or pitching win, major league, minor league, college, etc. There are literally endless ways to collect tickets and infinite pursuits one can undertake. As you can see below, I have game 8 (the clincher) of the 1919 world series -- I many try to collect a ticket from every game of the 1919 world series. I know someone that is collecting a ticket from every different touchdown celebration and another for every rule, uniform, and other football innovation (like first helmet, first 2 point conversion, first onside kick, etc).

6. They are affordable. Tickets, for now, are a fraction of what their rookie-card counter-parts cost. Moreover, tickets of events (as opposed to debuts) tend to be very affordable - often less than $100. So, you may not be able to afford a Willie Mays debut, but you probably could afford his first hit, or home run, or world series game, or home game, etc.

Anyway, I have fallen in love with tickets,. I collect mostly baseball, but I have also acquired football and basketball tickets as well as music events. I collect signed and unsigned, stubs and fulls. This being a vintage baseball, I have posted below some of my baseball stubs.

Please share your thoughts about tickets and lets see some, post your prewar tickets!!