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!!

[Rhotchkiss]

As an aside, if anyone is interested in learning more about tickets, I found these two youtube shows very helpful: Stub Luv and Talking Tickets.

I understand there are also several instagram groups and a facebook site called Boogers Tickets that people really like, but I am not on social media, so I have no firsthand experience there.

[BabyRuth]

Ruth's last HR at Yankee Stadium off Walter Johnson August 23, 1942.

Oh and a signed program by Ruth and Johnson from that day to complete the ensemble!!!!

[ValKehl]

Ryan, you have made a very nice promotional posting for ticket collecting, and I'm glad that you are now enamored with this aspect of the hobby. However, I have no interest in tickets because tickets are boring to look at to me. Baseball cards would also be boring to me to look at if they didn't have pics of the players on them. But Ryan, when I view your fantastic tickets at the Net54 vintage collectors get-together in VA next February, I'll do my best to feign interest in them!

[perezfan]

Vintage Tickets are very cool, and a great segment of the hobby. But you might get a more enthusiastic response than Val's, if you post it on the Memorabilia side. Lots of advanced ticket collectors over there, and this is a category that's right in their wheelhouse.

Great stuff, and you have some killer examples!

[raulus]

Ryan - glad you found something new to enjoy with the hobby!

[Rhotchkiss]

Originally Posted by perezfan

Vintage Tickets are very cool, and a great segment of the hobby. But you might get a more enthusiastic response than Val's, if you post it on the Memorabilia side. Lots of advanced ticket collectors over there, and this is a category that's right in their wheelhouse.

Great stuff, and you have some killer examples!

I hear ya! I took a chance here, knowing Leon may move it, because I am trying to open the collectible category up to pure card collectors. Not that tickets are a secret, but the thread will get more, new, and different eyes over here. Plus, it will get different type of discussion.

Val, I am going to find you a senators debut ticket (don’t a Sam Rice exists)!

[Exhibitman]

Some tickets are visually blah. Some are nice looking. Whatever floats your boat.




A ticket was the only worthwhile thing I got from the AC National a few years ago:

[BRoberts]

Spectacular pickups, Ryan.

[Bicem]

Love tickets as they provide a direct connection to whatever historic event.

[ValKehl]

Originally Posted by Rhotchkiss

Val, I am going to find you a senators debut ticket (don’t a Sam Rice exists)!

Ryan, truth be told, if I were to come across a Sam Rice debut ticket/stub (August 7, 1915, a home-game loss to the White Sox), I would have to acquire it! Many thanks in advance if you are able to come across one for me!

[theshowandme]

Awesome stuff.

I went to Game 1 of the World Series last night and they would not print me a ticket at guest services. I am not sure if you have to do it at the box office outside or not. There are some significant moments which will not have physical tickets tied to them and that sucks!

[ValKehl]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

Some tickets are visually blah. Some are nice looking. Whatever floats your boat.

Adam, those are visually cool tickets, but they AREN'T BASEBALL TICKETS!

[Lucas00]

Wartime Browns Double header. This day in history sept 13th is the date Germany would begin it's "House to house" ground assault on Stalingrad. The deadliest battle in history. Technically a bus pass not a ticket, but I think it's acceptable.

[guy3050]

I Love collecting tickets, I've been collecting Montreal Expos tickets for close to 15 years , I have over 2000 different games , what I like about tickets is "Every ticket tells a Story" ,No pre-war ticket , here are Complete tickets to the Expos 1st Home Opener April 14th 1969, which also happens to be the 1st MLB game outside The United States

[GBU]

Picked this up a few years ago.

[Al C.risafulli]

Tickets are fantastic - I highly recommend following Tom Daley's account on Instagram. He's got some amazing tickets, and he's considerate of not just the important milestone games like Ryan alludes to here, but also cool games like the Boston "Here comes the pizza!" game, or the time Don Mattingly grabbed a fistful of popcorn from a little kid in the stands. There are all sorts of things that can make a game memorable, and Tom pays attention to all of them. My favorite ticket he's shown is the one with the first ever high-five.

I vastly prefer stubs to fulls; a long-time ticket collector once told me "I don't collect full tickets - the stub actually went to the game!"

-Al

[Lorewalker]

Originally Posted by BRoberts

Spectacular pickups, Ryan.

Well you might get a chance...that might have been a preview to a Goldin Auctions consignment. Ryan has owned and sold some of the greatest items in the hobby.

[StraightRaceCards]

That 1919 World Series ticket is epic Ryan!

Loved seeing everyone’s tickets, keep em coming!

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by ValKehl

Adam, those are visually cool tickets, but they AREN'T BASEBALL TICKETS!

They aren't?

Shit.

[ValKehl]

Ryan, you can thank me later for generating all or most or many of the enthusiastic responses to this thread you started!

IMHO, two more things that cards have over tickets are player info and player stats!

[Rhotchkiss]

It’s not a competition Val. Cards are king. Just saying, tickets are pretty cool too.

The Montreal tix are exactly what I am talking about - first Montreal Expos game and first game in Canada in one, plus all the games thereafter. So many options.

I agree, keep’em coming.

[Schlesinj]

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[Schlesinj]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[puckpaul]

Tickets are cool, though I have matched them to events i have memorabilia from or i have attended. I have mostly hockey ones

In order: Mets win 69 series, was at the game as my dad took me, but i was 4 and dont remember anything.
87 Canada cup final game, greatest hockey ever played, flew to canada to attend (looking for jerseys but have not come across any from the finals)
94 Rangers win Cup, my tickets….greatest sports night ever for me. Have a jersey worn in the game (Kovalev).
Orr’s debut ticket plus the program (i often think the programs are cooler than the tickets)
Ticket to game 4 of the 1972 summit Series in Vancouver where Espo made the famous speech (have his jersey from that speech) also have game 8 ticket in Russia but no photo available now
Ticket to 1933 game where Eddie shore hit Ace Bailey in the head, i have Shore’s jersey from the all star game that followed to raise money for Bailey.
1980 Miracle game

[ValKehl]

Originally Posted by Rhotchkiss

It’s not a competition Val. Cards are king. Just saying, tickets are pretty cool too.

I hear ya, Ryan. But hey, I've merely been responding to your request in your first post, which was, "Please share your thoughts about tickets and lets see some, post your prewar tickets!!"

These are my only pre-War tickets:

[ValKehl]

Originally Posted by ValKehl

These are my only pre-War tickets:

My CRS memory just remembered that I also have this 1924 WS ticket. I'm still looking for tickets from 1924 WS Games 4 and 5 at the Polo Grounds.

[Topnotchsy]

I like tickets a lot and have some tickets in my collection. (Included a picture of one of the cooler one with my post).

I think that there is a lot going for tickets, though there are aspects of card collecting that I think will continue to separate it from the rest of the collecting pack.

Many reasons why tickets are great collectibles are listed in the initial post and I agree with pretty much all of them.

At the same time, I think there are some reasons why it is not the 'perfect' collectible.

1) Card collecting has been a major hobby in this country for generations. That simple fact means that a huge percentage of the population grew up collecting cards, and so many who may have stopped as a teen/young adult come back to it as a way of connecting to their childhoods.

2) They continue to make new cards. One of my biggest concerns with ticket collecting is the fact that most teams no longer print tickets. When a market stops generating new items, its collecting base (over time) falls away. I don't think I've ever met a collector under 50 or so that collects pins, because wearing pins has not been a thing for years. Collectors might still buy a signed check for the auto, but it almost no one specifically collects checks, because signe checks for modern players are almost non-existent. I worry that this will have a negative impact on the market.

3) The fun of opening packs - Cards have a lottery-like component that allows fans to chase cards far beyond their budget each time they open a pack of cards

4) Sets - Cards have cllear checklists and sets which provide collecting goals etc

5) Aesthetics - For the most part, tickets are not much to look at. There are acceptions, but not a ton

6) Standard sizes - Cards are (almost) all a standard size which makes storage and organization easy and neat

[Rhotchkiss]

Two pre-1950s pick ups from last night, and one for our hockey fan!

[guy3050]

Amazing picickups Ryan, here’s another cool one from my collection, Joel Youngblood the only player to ever play on 2 different teams in 2 different citys on the same day , he also collected a hit on both teams off 2 different Hall of famers Steve Carlton and Ferguson Jenkins

[Schlesinj]

Originally Posted by Rhotchkiss

Two pre-1950s pick ups from last night, and one for our hockey fan!

Had not seen a Great One debut, so great pickup on all. I was watching Jordan debuts as well. Good night for tickets.


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[Rhotchkiss]

Originally Posted by guy3050

Amazing picickups Ryan, here’s another cool one from my collection, Joel Youngblood the only player to ever play on 2 different teams in 2 different citys on the same day , he also collected a hit on both teams off 2 different Hall of famers Steve Carlton and Ferguson Jenkins

See, this post is F-ing cool!

Thanks Jamie

[jacksons]

Tickets are growing in popularity - agree with all the points Ryan mentioned.

Fun to find tickets to pair with other items in your collection.

[puckpaul]

Originally Posted by Rhotchkiss

Two pre-1950s pick ups from last night, and one for our hockey fan!

Nice! Though I wouldnt put that in the “tickets are cheap” category. :-)

[REG1976]

My ticket when I 9 yrs old to see Joe Theismann from my hometown with my parents
I also went to the Highschool Football games with my dad to watch Joe Theismann & Drew Pearson

Theismann for the Heisman

[Exhibitman]

[MVSNYC]

As per Al's post, much respect to Tom Daley (IG: @tkd.tickets).

Ryan, great thread. It's been fun chatting tickets with you, and watching your collection quickly grow.

Here's a few of mine (vintage, not "pre-war")...

[prestigecollectibles]

I love collecting tickets. This is my oldest one.
University of Washington vs Waseda University
September 19, 1908

Bad weather kept many fans away when the series began on September 19, but about 6,000 to 7,000 still came despite the clouds and light rain. They watched Washington score three runs in the eighth inning to turn a 2–1 deficit into a 4–2 win.

[PittOhio]

Baseball tickets are not very attractive, I prefer vintage college football tickets. Many have great graphics and are nice to look at.

[scooter729]

Great thread, Ryan - I've loved tickets for a while now!

Another area where I've seen some upticks in interest with tickets recently has been with the season ticket booklets which were popular in the pre-war days. People have been breaking up the booklets and selling the individual tickets, which I have mixed feelings.

Here's a couple of my booklets - a 1913 Red Sox booklet (belonging to John F. Kennedy! But not THAT one; it was an older relative with the same name) and a 1901 Philadelphia A's book, signed by Connie Mack as "C. McGillicuddy".

[Writehooks]

As great as tickets are, I'm more drawn to the much scarcer press passes issued for historic sporting events. Case in point: A little over 9,000 tickets were sold for the Feb. 25, 1964 fight that saw Cassius Clay (soon to become Muhammad Ali) win the world heavyweight championship from Sonny Liston at Miami's Convention Hall. By contrast, there were only 122 press passes issued ...

[tippedfinger]

Great thread -- there is a pretty established one for ticket collectors (about 15 yrs+) on the other vintage/game used forum. It's an awesome run through history.

https://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=113349

[mrreality68]

Originally Posted by Rhotchkiss

Two pre-1950s pick ups from last night, and one for our hockey fan!

Amazing pickups

Congrats

[jjbond]

Part of the reason I love tickets is that they are physical artifacts from historically significant games. They *were* there.

But then...the hobby puts a premium on near-mint full-unused tickets. Sigh.

[taul166]

I was exclusively a card collector. But I ventured into tickets. Now, I go back and forth. You need to define your ticket universe since it easily can get overwhelming with the number of events. I chose MLB World Series and MLB All-Star Games. I admit some tickets are rather mundane in appearance, but many are attractive and have neat designs. I second the approach of collecting stubs rather than full tickets because it feels neat to know to that someone walked thru the gate, and likely sat in the assigned seat, and witnessed history.

[jefferyadams]

A few questions as to ticket collecting:

1.When grading a rare ticket how it is authenticated by PSA if there are only a known few examples? Paper quality i presume is a factor, but what else is used to authenticate?

2. Is theere a website where you can put in a ticket date to determine if it was a player debut or it is just google research?

3. Best location to determing pricing. I have a MJ ticket stub from rookie season at Kansas City Kings that i would be interested in pricing.

[Jewish-collector]

1966 Texas Western vs Kentucky - FRONT.jpg

On March 19, 1966, Texas Western College (now the University of Texas at El Paso) started -- for the first time in NCAA basketball championship history -- five black players against an all-white Kentucky team at Cole Field house in College Park, Maryland. In a game that has come to represent a breakthrough for blacks in college sports, the Miners of Texas Western defeated the Wildcats for the championship. A movie, "Glory Road," based on the 1966 team, was released nationwide on January 2006.

[brianp-beme]

Card guy here. Many years ago I somehow, I believe in a misc. junk drawer type of auction lot, ended up with 2 prewar tickets. One is a Senators ticket, which I haven't tracked down. But the other one is from a May 26th 1933 Yankee home game against the Chicago White Sox. The game featured 10 future Hall of Famers between both teams (Yankees: Combs, Sewell, Ruth, Gehrig, Lazzeri, Dickey and Ruffing. White Sox: Simmons, Appling, Faber). The Yankees lost to the White Sox 8 to 6.

Notable achievements on the White Sox side: Luke Appling had a double and a triple with 2 RBI's, Al Simmons a couple of singles and 2 RBI's, and winning pitcher Paul Gregory went 3 for 4 with a double and scored 3 runs. Red Faber recorded a save with his 1-2/3rds innings of work, even though he gave up 3 runs.

On the Yankees side: Earl Combs had 2 hits, including a triple, and 2 RBI's, Joe Sewell had 2 hits including a double, losing pitcher Red Ruffing had 2 hits in 3 at bats including a triple, Lou Gehrig, playing in his 1225 consecutive game or so, had two singles, a run scored and a run batted in. He was replaced in the 9th inning at first base by Lyn Lary, one of the 64 times during his streak.

And now for the sad ending. Babe Ruth: He went 0 for 5, with a GIDP, and was the final batter in the 9th inning with a runner on second and him the potential tying run at plate. He grounded out to 1b, with the pitcher covering. A miserable day at the park for the Babe. In comparison, the previous game he hit a Home Run.

In my case, the unexpected gift of a ticket can't be perfect, but it was fun to track all this info down. I never expect to end up with another prewar or postwar ticket. My research started with the Keyman Collectibles website, which has an extensive and very detailed guide to dating older Yankees ticket stubs, and then I was able to pull up the exact game on the Baseball Reference site, which includes an at bat by at bat detailed box score.

Brian

[Rhotchkiss]

There are some great tickets, stories, and overall posts on this thread. Thank you keep them coming. I would like to comment on individual posts, but I don't like to be that guy who keeps bumping his own thread. But Jeffery Adams posted a series of questions and I want to respond to those.

Please understand that I am NOT an expert on tickets (yet), which makes me even more novice on things like ticket grading. But I will do my best to provide the answers I can, and I PLEASE invite everyone with more experience answering questions. Please see my general suggestions for info at the end of this post.

1.When grading a rare ticket how it is authenticated by PSA if there are only a known few examples? Paper quality i presume is a factor, but what else is used to authenticate? RH Response In my limited experience, TPGs, and PSA especially, will not go out on a limb and authenticate items they are not 100% sure about. How do they become sure? They will look at things like date and other clear indicators of where, when, and who. They may require indirect evidence, like having been stapled to a program from the game, pictures of a stub from a temporally relevant publication, or examples contained in a reputable location like the hall of fame or a major museum. A good example are the stubs from the First World Series. PSA will generally not authenticate them because there is no clear date or indication that they are from the world series; they could be from some other game between the two teams, both of whom are listed on the ticket. PSA will not authenticate the pictured Hilldale ticket because they do not know what year its from.

PSA does have a purported ticket expert.

2. Is there a website where you can put in a ticket date to determine if it was a player debut or it is just google research? RH Response I have not found one. I expect things like this will be created as/if ticket collecting becomes more mainstream -- its part of the info consolidation process that happens as an industry or asset class becomes less fragmented.

3. Best location to determining pricing. I have a MJ ticket stub from rookie season at Kansas City Kings that i would be interested in pricing. RH Response I have found Worthpoint to be a very valuable, albeit incomplete, tool. Other resources include the past auction searches in Heritage, Goldin, Lelands, and REA (these, in that order, seem to be the ones who sell the most tickets), and a simple google search both text and images. Finally, there is a facebook group called Boogers tickets that seems to be the sort of net54 equivalent

Other resources: There are two Youtube shows that I have found very helpful: Stub Luv with Howard C and Talking Tickets with Shaun D and Mike V. These shows have been around for a while and often contain discussions and guests covering the questions asked above. There are many instagram sites that provide help; I am not on insta so I really dont know the names, but I have made several friends through my wife's account. Again, there is a facebook site called Boogers tickets that seems like a meeting place for ticket collectors. Finally, I found ticket collectors to be very passionate, helpful, and friendly. Find a collector on instagram and message them, they almost always respond and they are usually happy to help. Good luck

[CollectingAmericasPastime]

A few months ago, I traded some post-war HoF cards for an autographed Jose Ramirez debut ticket from 9/1/2013, which also happens to be my birthday. While I have kept a large portion of the tickets I've used myself throughout the years, this was my first intentional ticket acquisition.

The pursuit of "progress" in society has had numerous negative byproducts, the borderline extinction of paper tickets being one of them.