Why Football Stub Collecting Is Gaining Popularity

By Bob Swick (BobSwick@snet.net)
Published Autumn, 2004

I remember my first experience at a NFL game.  It was Sunday, October 7, 1973. I had just turned 15 years old two days before the game.  My present was a ticket to Sunday’s big game between the New York Football Giants and my beloved Green Bay Packers.   The place was the Yale Bowl in New Haven, Connecticut, about 25 minutes away from our home.  I honestly had never seen that many people pack the Yale Bowl. The New York Football Giants played their late season home games that season at the Yale Bowl while work was being done to Yankee Stadium.  And I still have in my possession that game ticket stub on a day that the Packers defeated the Giants 16 to 14.  What wonderful memories that I still have about that game 31 years later!

            In my opinion one of the hottest areas of collecting in football memorabilia is ticket and ticket stub collecting.  I have always collected ticket stubs of any game that I have attended and each one is still in my possession.  I feel that collecting ticket stubs is an affordable and fun way to connect with the history of football and to have in your collection a truly limited collectible.  Many collectors are trying to collect runs of home and away ticket stubs of their favorite NFL and or college teams. Some collectors are trying to collect stubs from football games with Hall of Fame players in them.  Yet still other collectors collect Championship, Bowl and or Super Bowl stubs. Also collectors who collect football ticket stubs are more likely to trade with other collectors for their needs.  Fellow collectors who are looking for specific stubs for their collections always are in contact with me.

David Anzicek is an avid ticket stub collector who runs the web site- www.TicketStubCollector.com. This site is devoted to the history and collecting of ticket stubs of all sports and is very well presented and informative.  I personally have made several trades for football stubs that I needed by posting on this site.  I recently asked him why he feels ticket stub collecting is becoming so popular and he stated,

“Football ticket stub collecting is gaining so much popularity because collectors have started to realize that it is an affordable way to connect with the history of their favorite team.  The ticket stubs can remind them of some of their favorite players and games as well as the good times they had there with family and friends.  The ease of the internet has allowed collectors from around the world to connect and trade with others to increase their collections.  Also, the latest rage in sports memorabilia collecting is owning a ‘piece of the game.’  Collectors are gobbling up artifacts as fast as memorabilia and sports card companies can create them.”

            We then discussed grading of ticket stubs by independent grading services.  He responded, “Ticket stub grading is still a relatively new idea to collectors and has yet to gain much traction with experienced collectors.  It seems that it only makes sense to grade a ticket if it is very valuable and you plan on selling it.  Most collectors are not in the market to sell their ticket stubs.  Also, each collector has a unique way of storing and displaying their collection, and the rigid plastic cases from the grading services make it more difficult display stubs.”

            An early printer of tickets was the John A. Lowell Bank Note Company of Boston, Massachusetts.  This company was well known for the printing of bank notes and stock certificates and also printed tickets for several colleges most notably, Ivy League schools like Harvard and Yale.  The oldest ticket stub I have in my collection is a North Carolina versus Yale contest held on Saturday, October 11, 1919 at the Yale Bowl.  The color of the ticket was a green with black printing, with the stock of the ticket being rather heavy card or board like paper.  The next oldest ticket stub I have is an October 29, 1927 Dartmouth versus Yale stub.  Notice on this stub the red ink imprinted on it for your seat location. 

            Another attractive aspect of collecting football ticket stubs is the scarcity of them.  Many colleges only play ten or twelve game seasons, while the NFL regular season is sixteen games.  There is obviously a limited number of seats and games, so you do hold in your possession a limited collectible.  I still believe that for many NFL teams a regular season run of stubs is very collectible and affordable.  Also for old American Football League fans, it is possible with a lot of work to do a regular season run from 1960 to 2004.  You are in possession of one of only a few pieces of the history of that particular game.

            Another big collecting area is Hall of Fame Induction game tickets.  I have quite a few in my collection and this is one run that I am actively pursuing.  A beautiful run of these tickets from the first game in 1962 to this past years’ drama is a historical look at the inductees who make up this great institution and makes for a great collection.  Again the earlier tickets from the 1960’s are going to be tougher to find.

Tickets have seen their designs improve dramatically over time.  From stubs just showing a location of a seat, many tickets over the past fifteen years picture players, action shots and interesting designs.  That in itself is a great reason to start to or expand your collection of ticket stubs.

            Ticket stubs are easy to display.  Many collectors like placing their stubs in plastic sheets and keep them in a binder to view.  Others like to frame their stubs and hang them for display.  You as a collector should decide how you wish to display your stubs.

            As far as pricing is concerned for stubs, there is a wide range of factors to consider.  Obviously, the older stub in my opinion, the more valuable it is.  And College Bowl games, Championship games, and Super Bowl games all have greater value to them.  A full-unused ticket does in some cases have more value to it than a stub.  What you are willing to pay for a stub should determine its value, however keep in mind serious stub collectors prefer trading for pieces that they need.  The memories are priceless for those games that you attend and naturally your stub from the game adds to the enjoyment of you collection.

Until next time good luck with your collections.

Bob Swick has been collecting football cards, publications and memorabilia since 1965.  A Green Bay Packers shareholder, he is also a member of the Board of Directors of The Professional Football Researchers Association.  In addition he writes  “The Football Collector” on http://sportznutz.com/collector/index.htm