The Demise (Almost) of the Paper Ticket: Baseball

 A favorite sporting event, theater performance or museum souvenir is the ticket or, in the old days, ticket stub. Although scanning technology made ripping tickets obsolete, so has it rendered the paper ticket obsolete. As you will see at the end, I found at least one notable exception.

Here are some interesting examples.

Cleveland Indians vs. Chicago White Sox, September 2, 1959. The Sox and Indians were battling for the American League pennant (the winner would be the first other than the Yankees since 1954), and the teams played a twi-night doubleheader (two games starting at 6 p.m. for the younger generations), making up an April 19 game postponed because of cold weather. The Sox won game 1, 7-2, but starter Barry Latman was pulled with the Sox trailing in the second game. Rookie Joe Stanka entered in relief, and the Sox then posted an 11-run inning, giving Stanka his only MLB win in the 11-4 triumph before 40,237 fans. He would later go on to be one of the first Americans to star in Japan. 

Chicago Cubs bleachers. The undated ticket is probably from the early 1960s, when we began taking the bus and L on our own to Wrigley Field. This could have been the day we found out the difference between CTA A trains and B trains. I haven’t sat in the bleachers since September 23, 1982, when 4,344 fans showed up to see the two National League East bottom dwellers face off on a Wednesday afternoon. The Mets won, 5-4, with no home runs that day but a ball caught in batting practice that day. 

Cleveland Indians vs. Boston Red Sox, September 5, 1961. I used Baseball Reference to determine the date of the game, a night game before a day game during our after-camp visit to New York City and Boston. The Yankees were on the road during our stay, delaying my first trip to The Stadium for seven years. It was also between the time the Giants left the Polo Grounds and the Mets made it their temporary home. The ticket agent was nice enough to tell my father to buy general-admission tickets; the ushers allowed people in that section to move closer to home plate as soon as the first pitch was thrown. The Indians defeated the Red Sox, 9-5, before a decent-sized crowd for the time of 14,471. 

Chicago Cubs vs. Milwaukee Braves, May 4, 1963. At my only trip to County Stadium for baseball (attended a Bears-Packers exhibition game there in August 1968), we saw an MLB record that should never be broken. Our mother had gone to Europe with three friends, and dad took Frank and me for the Saturday game. During the rain delay, our father contacted Chicago American reporter Jim Enright, who found an empty press box for us. In its inimical wisdom, MLB instructed umpires to crack down on balks. Braves and former White Sox pitcher Bob Shaw was called for 5 balks before being ejected with one out in the 5^th inning. Shortly thereafter, MLB saw the error of its ways. The Cubs won, 7-5, before a sparse crowd of 8,524. 

Cincinnati Reds vs. St. Louis Cardinals, August 14, 1965. You know you’re aging when the ballpark that replaced the one you’ve visited has also been replaced. On a typical hot summer St. Louis evening, I attended my only game at the old Sportsman’s Park/Busch Stadium. My camp friend Bill Glassman arranged for his grandparents to take us for the round trip beginning in hometown Mt. Vernon, Illinois. Despite star-studded line-ups (Rose, Bench, Frank Robinson, Tony Perez and Pinson for the Reds; Brock, Flood, McCarver and Boyer for the Cardinals), neither team contended for the National League crown. The 1964 World Series winners drew only 16,484 for the Friday tilt, which they won, 4-2.

Houston Astros vs. Philadelphia Phillies, April 19, 1968. I had the same situation with Shibe Park/Connie Mack Stadium, but unfortunately didn’t keep the stub. Traveling with three fellow Lehigh University freshman, we were among 6,671 who witnessed a snappy 2-hour, 2-minute game (neither team got a runner past 2^nd base) won by the Phillies, 2-1, on home runs by Bobby Wine (1 of 30 in his 12-year MLB career) and Dick Allen (who was still booed the next time up). John Bateman hit his first of four home runs that season. I loved that ballpark; our seats in the upper deck past 1^st base seemed to hang almost to the field. 

Chicago White Sox vs. Oakland A’s, September 24, 1980. My only visit to a multipurpose stadium (the last currently in existence) followed a business trip to Stockton. Neither team was contending; only 2,836 showed up for the late-season game. I bought the ticket in the parking lot from a kid carrying a broken Wayne Nordhagen bat. Surveying the empty stands before the game, Sox pitcher Ross Baumgarten, brother of my classmate Craig and one of Uncle Adolph’s former patients, asked me, “Isn’t this a glamorous life?” The A’s won, 7-1, holding the Sox to 2 hits. 

The last game in the old Comiskey Park and first game in the new Comiskey Park. Both were surreal events. The Sox defeated the Mariners (Griffey Sr. and Jr. were in the Seattle line-up), 2-1, on September 30, 1990. The new ballpark experience on April 28, 1991, was notable for several reasons, including sitting higher up for a baseball game than in my previous 37 years (that row and several others in the back of the upper deck were removed after the 2004 season), seeing the old ballpark across the street being demolished and watching the Sox lose to the Tigers, 16-0. 

Chicago White Sox vs. Milwaukee Brewers, July 7, 2001. The inaugural season for Miller Park (now American Family Field) promised to be our first indoor game, as heavy rains poured during our drive north. The roof was closed when we arrived in the far parking lot; by the time we entered the stadium, the roof was open. The Sox hit four home runs, including a 440-foot shot by DH Jose Conseco, on the way to an 8-4 win before 40,332 fans. 

Montreal Expos vs. Florida Marlins, September 14, 2004. The game at then-U.S. Cellular Field was moved from then-Pro Player Stadium because of Hurricane Ina. Part of the general-admission ticket proceeds went to hurricane relief. The Marlins defeated the Expos, 8-6, thanks to a 6-run (5-uneared) 6^th inning. Only 5,457 witnessed this unusual event.

 

Milwaukee Brewers vs. Florida Marlins, April 9, 2007. Frank and I didn’t take into account the Marlins had virtually no season-ticket holders, causing us to circle Dolphin Stadium twice before finding a seller. There is no price on the ticket; I think we paid $30 for two. The Marlins won, 5-3; Miguel Cabrera is the last active player from the game, while Brewers manager Craig Counsell played shortstop for Milwaukee and Yankees manager Aaron Boone pinch-hit for Florida. Despite attendance at a highly inflated 11,157 in the cavernous stadium, I was impressed that the ushers prohibited fans from returning to their seats until the batter completed his plate appearance.  

Chicago White Sox vs. New York Yankees, September 18, 2008. The final White Sox game in the old (but renovated) Yankee Stadium, just before the final series of the year. Despite losing both games I attended, the Sox made the post-season on the 1-0 Blackout game playoff win vs. the Twins. My first game here was Denny McLain’s second win of his 31-win season, April 27, 1968. My thoughts as I left The Stadium were on football, not baseball: My parents, married one year, attended the Army-Illinois game, October 11, 1947, which ended in a 0-0 tie. 

Florida Marlins vs. Baltimore Orioles, April 1, 2009. Frank and I didn’t know at the time we’d attended the final MLB Spring Training game in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, before the O’s departed for Sarasota. It was also our first game with legitimate senior-citizen tickets, reduced from $14.00. The Marlins were trouncing the Orioles, 12-2, in the 7^th inning (reserves were jogging in the outfield during play) when we head back to our apartment and the pool. 

Chicago White Sox vs. Colorado Rockies, July 7, 2017. Print-at-home ticket had its day for a short period until teams figured out they could be mass-produced and sold to unsuspecting fans. My cousin Cathy and I used the opportunity to see the Sox in Denver while visiting my brother. The Sox lost, 12-4, with 38,386 in attendance. The next night we saw Jose Quintana’s final Sox appearance and a Sox 5-4 victory, thanks to a 437-foot home run by Tim Anderson. 

Houston Astros vs. Chicago White Sox, October 10, 2021. Just when I thought baseball’s paper tickets were extinct, I found one. Families of White Sox personnel were issued paper tickets for the 2021 post-season; this one was used by a friend. With their backs against the wall, the White Sox erased a 5-1 deficit in Game 3 of the ALDS for a convincing 12-6 win. I was one of 40,288 fans to witness the contest, using an on-your-phone ticket for Section 126, Row 9 (5 rows behind the 1^st-base dugout), Seat 4. The season ended two days later, the less said the better.