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I was there, but I was stupid.

fairgambit

fairgambit

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Aug 20, 2010
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I've been fortunate to attend a number of important Pittsburgh sports events...All Star Games, World Series Games, Roberto Clemente's 3,000th hit, the closing game at Forbes Field, the Immaculate Reception game.... In every case, I saved the ticket and the program. Now I can't find any of it. Why does that matter? Because these items sell on eBay for some nice money. I did a brief check today of items I once owned that recently sold on eBay. These are confirmed sales, not just what people asked. Here are a few examples.

Scorecard from last game at Forbes Field (not autographed) $299.99
1959 All Star Game Ticket Stub and Program $300.00
Immaculate Reception Ticket $281.10
I have also seen Clemente's 3,000th hit game stubs go for $1,500.00.

The message is, if you have some good memorabilia, put it in a safe spot and remember where the hell that safe spot is. I did not. I was there, but I was stupid! :(
 
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fairgambit said:
I've been fortunate to attend a number of important Pittsburgh sports events...All Star Games, World Series Games, Roberto Clemente's 3,000th hit, the closing game at Forbes Field, the Immaculate Reception game.... In every case, I saved the ticket and the program. Now I can't find any of it. Why does that matter? Because these items sell on E-Bay for some nice money. I did a brief check today of items I once owned that recently sold on E-Bay. These are confirmed sales, not just what people asked. Here are a couple of examples.
Scorecard from last game at Forbes Field (not autographed) $299.99
1959 All Star Game Ticket Stub $300.00
I have also seen Clemente's 3,000th hit game stubs go for $1,500.00.
The message is, if you have some good memorabilia, put it in a safe spot and remember where the hell that safe spot is.:(
Click to expand...

Here's the thing... at most of those events you most likely were at the event, watched it, and enjoyed it.

Modern day attendance at an event means... selfies, massive amounts of photos, chatting with random people via text.

Just be happy you were there and able to attend in a time when attendance meant something other than boasting.

LdN
 
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LionDeNittany said:
Here's the thing... at most of those events you most likely were at the event, watched it, and enjoyed it.
Modern day attendance at an event means... selfies, massive amounts of photos, chatting with random people via text.
Just be happy you were there and able to attend in a time when attendance meant something other than boasting.
LdN
Click to expand...

Very true, but just a bit more care with the tickets and programs and I could have a nice chunk of change right now. It just frustrates me that what I once had, and treasured, cannot be found.
 
fairgambit said:
I've been fortunate to attend a number of important Pittsburgh sports events...All Star Games, World Series Games, Roberto Clemente's 3,000th hit, the closing game at Forbes Field, the Immaculate Reception game.... In every case, I saved the ticket and the program. Now I can't find any of it. Why does that matter? Because these items sell on E-Bay for some nice money. I did a brief check today of items I once owned that recently sold on E-Bay. These are confirmed sales, not just what people asked. Here are a couple of examples.
Scorecard from last game at Forbes Field (not autographed) $299.99
1959 All Star Game Ticket Stub $300.00
Immaculate Reception Ticket $281.10
I have also seen Clemente's 3,000th hit game stubs go for $1,500.00.
The message is, if you have some good memorabilia, put it in a safe spot and remember where the hell that safe spot is.:(
Click to expand...
Curse the edit function!
 
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fairgambit said:
I've been fortunate to attend a number of important Pittsburgh sports events...All Star Games, World Series Games, Roberto Clemente's 3,000th hit, the closing game at Forbes Field, the Immaculate Reception game.... In every case, I saved the ticket and the program. Now I can't find any of it. Why does that matter? Because these items sell on E-Bay for some nice money. I did a brief check today of items I once owned that recently sold on E-Bay. These are confirmed sales, not just what people asked. Here are a few examples.

Scorecard from last game at Forbes Field (not autographed) $299.99
1959 All Star Game Ticket Stub $300.00
Immaculate Reception Ticket $281.10
I have also seen Clemente's 3,000th hit game stubs go for $1,500.00.

The message is, if you have some good memorabilia, put it in a safe spot and remember where the hell that safe spot is. I did not. I was there, but I was stupid! :(
Click to expand...

I was fortunate to have a father who saved everything. He saw Mazersoki's 1960 World Series home run. 40 years later he meets Mazeroski and gets an autograph on the ticket and a picture with him. The first pro football game that I was ever saw was the Immaculate Reception. Because of my dad, I saved the ticket stub. Last year, I was able to get Franco's autograph on the ticket stub and a picture. I won't sell them, because they mean more to me than someone else.
 
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fairgambit said:
I've been fortunate to attend a number of important Pittsburgh sports events...All Star Games, World Series Games, Roberto Clemente's 3,000th hit, the closing game at Forbes Field, the Immaculate Reception game.... In every case, I saved the ticket and the program. Now I can't find any of it. Why does that matter? Because these items sell on E-Bay for some nice money. I did a brief check today of items I once owned that recently sold on E-Bay. These are confirmed sales, not just what people asked. Here are a couple of examples.
Scorecard from last game at Forbes Field (not autographed) $299.99
1959 All Star Game Ticket Stub $300.00
I have also seen Clemente's 3,000th hit game stubs go for $1,500.00.
The message is, if you have some good memorabilia, put it in a safe spot and remember where the hell that safe spot is.:(
Click to expand...


If you last saw them in the house in which you currently live, there are two possibilities:

a. that your wife threw them out (there is also the possibility that you did, but you'll feel better about yourself if you erase that thought from your mind); or

b. they are still there, buried among all of the junk (and few necessities) that most of us tend to accumulate and seldom dispose.

As you can't do anything about Option a, you are left with one course of action: embark on a thorough housecleaning. You'd be surprised how therapeutic it is. I started a couple of weeks ago with the workroom in my basement. Gazing at my workbench with a jumble of recklessly placed tools and the jetsam of projects past, I knew how Hercules felt when he first ventured into the Augean Stables (minus the olfactory assault). But my despair soon turned to elation.as organization rose from the chaos, as garbage was put in its proper place, and as tools that I hadn't seen for years surfaced. Then there are the moments of sheer disbelief, like what on earth possessed me to by two of the exact same dogbone wrench (my wife, bless her soul, remembers that the merchant erroneously sent me two and told me to keep the other when I offered to return it)?

In other words,from Matthew 7:7, seek, and ye shall find.
 
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MattMC223 said:
I was fortunate to have a father who saved everything. He saw Mazersoki's 1960 World Series home run. 40 years later he meets Mazeroski and gets an autograph on the ticket and a picture with him. The first pro football game that I was ever saw was the Immaculate Reception. Because of my dad, I saved the ticket stub. Last year, I was able to get Franco's autograph on the ticket stub and a picture. I won't sell them, because they mean more to me than someone else.
Click to expand...
I understand not selling, and I would not sell the Clemente ticket, but I would dump the 59 All Star Game items in a heartbeat for 300 bucks. One other point. As an attorney, I handle a lot of decedent's estates, and I constantly see examples of someone dying with sports memorabilia, a coin collection, antiques, etc., and the heirs can't wait to get rid of them and get the cash. I try to get them to take their time and get fair prices, but they often dump the items within a month. It might be best to talk to your heirs and see if anyone has an interest in items like these. If not, as you age, it might be wise to sell them at a fair price rather than leaving them to heirs who could care less.
 
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I always struggled with what to keep and what to toss. I don't have anything as memorable as those events (probably because I grew up in Philly and at the time most all the sports teams sucked). However, I used to save every Rolling Stone magazine I had until about 10 years ago. Got sick of lugging them from house to house as I had about 6 of those plastic tubs full. Tried to sell them at garage sales. Finally, threw them in the recycling. However, after rock stars started dying off, the ones with them on the cover became valuable. Not super valuable, like the one with Michael Jackson on the cover was going for like $50 or something. Need less to say I don't regret getting rid of them, was it really worth $50 lugging those crates all over the place as storing them? Nope. Don't regret it and I am not going to look up what the one's with David Bowie and Tom Petty on the covers are going for. Better to minimalize now instead of making our kids do it when we are dead and gone.
 
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Art said:
If you last saw them in the house in which you currently live, there are two possibilities:

a. that your wife threw them out (there is also the possibility that you did, but you'll feel better about yourself if you erase that thought from your mind); or

b. they are still there, buried among all of the junk (and few necessities) that most of us tend to accumulate and seldom dispose.

As you can't do anything about Option a, you are left with one course of action: embark on a thorough housecleaning. You'd be surprised how therapeutic it is. I started a couple of weeks ago with the workroom in my basement. Gazing at my workbench with a jumble of recklessly placed tools and the jetsam of projects past, I knew how Hercules felt when he first ventured into the Augean Stables (minus the olfactory assault). But my despair soon turned to elation.as organization rose from the chaos, as garbage was put in its proper place, and as tools that I hadn't seen for years surfaced. Then there are the moments of sheer disbelief, like what on earth possessed me to by two of the exact same dogbone wrench (my wife, bless her soul, remembers that the merchant erroneously sent me two and told me to keep the other when I offered to return it)?

In other words,from Matthew 7:7, seek, and ye shall find.
Click to expand...

I know my wife would not toss them, and we've lived in the same house for over 40 years, so I hope they are here somewhere. I will take your advice and do a thorough housecleaning. Damn, that's a pain. Anyway, if I find them, I will send you one of the poorest quality, most expensive sweatshirts, from Gambit Worldwide Enterprises. :)
 
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...I have 4 box seats from the last game played at Forbes Field... they are just metal folding chairs painted blue...
... the PA announcer said you could walk out with anything you could carry but don't hurt anyone...people were ripping up pieces of sod ... but the funniest were two guys carrying out urinals!...
 
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psuro said:
He once went to a Diner, which had a sign that said "Open 24 hours"....when he got there, the owner was locking up - Wright said "Hey, I thought you were open 24 hours"....the owner said "Yeah, but not 24 hours in a row."
Click to expand...
Was watching Sinfeld's "comedians in cars" with JB Smoove the other day. He had a quick hitter that made me laugh. He looked up and apparently saw someone using chopsticks and said "man, those Chinese are really sticking with that chopstick thing". I mean, is two sticks really the best way to eat? I chuckled all day.
 
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psuro said:
He once went to a Diner, which had a sign that said "Open 24 hours"....when he got there, the owner was locking up - Wright said "Hey, I thought you were open 24 hours"....the owner said "Yeah, but not 24 hours in a row."
Click to expand...
I saw him a few years ago at the Sands in Bethlehem. Free tix. I knew ALL of his material, but I still laughed hysterically.
 
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JWB389 said:
I saw him a few years ago at the Sands in Bethlehem. Free tix. I knew ALL of his material, but I still laughed hysterically.
Click to expand...


He was similar to Rodney D. in that most everyone knew all the material and every time you heard it, it was always just as funny or even more so than the first time.
 
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androcles said:
...I have 4 box seats from the last game played at Forbes Field... they are just metal folding chairs painted blue...
... the PA announcer said you could walk out with anything you could carry but don't hurt anyone...people were ripping up pieces of sod ... but the funniest were two guys carrying out urinals!...
Click to expand...

I saw many people take items, as you did, and they appear from time to time on eBay, or at local auctions. Unfortunately, much of it is not obviously from Forbes Field and so there is not sufficient provenance to command a serious price. You should do your best to document what you have in the event that you, or your heirs, choose to sell it in future years.
 
fairgambit said:
I've been fortunate to attend a number of important Pittsburgh sports events...All Star Games, World Series Games, Roberto Clemente's 3,000th hit, the closing game at Forbes Field, the Immaculate Reception game.... In every case, I saved the ticket and the program. Now I can't find any of it. Why does that matter? Because these items sell on eBay for some nice money. I did a brief check today of items I once owned that recently sold on eBay. These are confirmed sales, not just what people asked. Here are a few examples.

Scorecard from last game at Forbes Field (not autographed) $299.99
1959 All Star Game Ticket Stub and Program $300.00
Immaculate Reception Ticket $281.10
I have also seen Clemente's 3,000th hit game stubs go for $1,500.00.

The message is, if you have some good memorabilia, put it in a safe spot and remember where the hell that safe spot is. I did not. I was there, but I was stupid! :(
Click to expand...

ROSEBUD

 
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fairgambit said:
I've been fortunate to attend a number of important Pittsburgh sports events...All Star Games, World Series Games, Roberto Clemente's 3,000th hit, the closing game at Forbes Field, the Immaculate Reception game.... In every case, I saved the ticket and the program. Now I can't find any of it. Why does that matter? Because these items sell on eBay for some nice money. I did a brief check today of items I once owned that recently sold on eBay. These are confirmed sales, not just what people asked. Here are a few examples.

Scorecard from last game at Forbes Field (not autographed) $299.99
1959 All Star Game Ticket Stub and Program $300.00
Immaculate Reception Ticket $281.10
I have also seen Clemente's 3,000th hit game stubs go for $1,500.00.

The message is, if you have some good memorabilia, put it in a safe spot and remember where the hell that safe spot is. I did not. I was there, but I was stupid! :(
Click to expand...
My mom threw out my seat slats from the Last Game at Connie Mack while I was an exchange student in Germany (they moved while I was gone--and yes, they let me know where they had moved to!).
 
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fairgambit said:
I've been fortunate to attend a number of important Pittsburgh sports events...All Star Games, World Series Games, Roberto Clemente's 3,000th hit, the closing game at Forbes Field, the Immaculate Reception game.... In every case, I saved the ticket and the program. Now I can't find any of it. Why does that matter? Because these items sell on eBay for some nice money. I did a brief check today of items I once owned that recently sold on eBay. These are confirmed sales, not just what people asked. Here are a few examples.

Scorecard from last game at Forbes Field (not autographed) $299.99
1959 All Star Game Ticket Stub and Program $300.00
Immaculate Reception Ticket $281.10
I have also seen Clemente's 3,000th hit game stubs go for $1,500.00.

The message is, if you have some good memorabilia, put it in a safe spot and remember where the hell that safe spot is. I did not. I was there, but I was stupid! :(
Click to expand...


We got lucky on a big event. Got tickets to a boy scout outing to a Penguin game when my boys were young. Bought the tickets months in advance, but then it turned out to be Mario's return game. We were behind the net that he got his goal in that evening. My son's ticket stubs from that night are with their individual Mario signed memento's. One a Nike hockey stick, like Mario used, signed. The other with a picture of him scoring his goal that night, signed.
 
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Not game tickets, but similar... as a child in the 70's and 80's, I collected tons of the Star Wars memorabilia- almost everything that was released as an action toy. A lot of it I opened and played with. But there was also a ton of duplicate action figures and such that I received for gifts that were never opened. Somewhere in the 80's my mother decided to clean my room (because I probably would not). Her cleaning consisted of taking large black trash bags and putting any toy that was not properly put in its place (or anything not clothing related) in said bag and donating it to needy children. Flash forward to college and I stumble upon the fact that so many of those action figures are selling for astronomical prices (especially unopened). Likewise, my baseball card collection (with many great players and rookie cards I had collected) was placed in same bag. Now, when my saint of a mother gives me any opportunity, I remind her playfully that we could be living the good life if she had not given away my stuff...... and wonder aloud how the kids that got it are enjoying living on the Caribbean island that they have since they sold it all. She laughs.... and tells me I should have cleaned my room properly.
 
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A couple things to remember:
1. Tickets to most events are now scanned, thus, less luster for rareness.
2. The best tickets to older events are those that are unused (i.e. stub is still attached to ticket). For example, a game with 98% capacity has, at most, 2% of "full" tickets and are much more of a collectible item.

So, if you planned to go to the game in 1980 but decided to tailgate, your full" ticket is much more valuable!
 
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Yeah, I still have several hundred MLB & NFL cards from the mid-60’s......but my Mom had to have thrown away 1,000+ during one of the many family moves after I started college.
 
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ILLINOISLION said:
Yeah, I still have several hundred MLB & NFL cards from the mid-60’s......but my Mom had to have thrown away 1,000+ during one of the many family moves after I started college.
Click to expand...
Not to hijack the thread but I too have several hundred baseball cards from that era (Illi, sometimes I think that we were separated at birth) but I often wonder if they are worth anything. How does one go about getting such a collection assessed? Do you just take it to a collector and pay him some fee to determine its worth? If I do, will my best cards be missing when I get it back?
 
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ILLINOISLION said:
Yeah, I still have several hundred MLB & NFL cards from the mid-60’s......but my Mom had to have thrown away 1,000+ during one of the many family moves after I started college.
Click to expand...
I do have most of my Topps 1968 set (including Nolan Ryan's rookie card) and much of a similar NHL set from the same time--but Bobby Orr disappeared at some point. And a couple of Fergie Jenkins rookies--I was allowed to keep them as he was a Phillie (on the card). And much of the 1965, 1966, and 1967 sets. But I did get to keep Sandy Koufax.
 
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psuro said:
He once went to a Diner, which had a sign that said "Open 24 hours"....when he got there, the owner was locking up - Wright said "Hey, I thought you were open 24 hours"....the owner said "Yeah, but not 24 hours in a row."
Click to expand...
I saw Steven the other day and asked him how it was going - he said his leg fell asleep today and now it’s going to be up all night.
 
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fairgambit said:
I understand not selling, and I would not sell the Clemente ticket, but I would dump the 59 All Star Game items in a heartbeat for 300 bucks. One other point. As an attorney, I handle a lot of decedent's estates, and I constantly see examples of someone dying with sports memorabilia, a coin collection, antiques, etc., and the heirs can't wait to get rid of them and get the cash. I try to get them to take their time and get fair prices, but they often dump the items within a month. It might be best to talk to your heirs and see if anyone has an interest in items like these. If not, as you age, it might be wise to sell them at a fair price rather than leaving them to heirs who could care less.
Click to expand...

Exactly this FairG. I have been collecting sports memorabilia for over 40 years, literally a room full of boxes, some of which may be of some financial value over time and saving it for my son.

Like Fred Sanford I would tell him, "Someday this empire will be yours. There may be some money in this stuff." He doesn't follow sports like I do or know the value of what I have saved. He said to me, "Dad, I don't want to have to go through all this stuff. Sell it and enjoy yourself with the money."

So the excavation procesd has slowly begun. I found things I forgot I even had.
Sanford2.jpg
 
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