The Demise of the Paper Ticket: Football

I have attended far fewer football venues than baseball stadiums, although some of the baseball parks once hosted football. Three are still in existence (Fenway Park, Oakland Coliseum and Joe Robbie Stadium) and several have been demolished (County Stadium, Yankee Stadium, Connie Mack Stadium, Busch Stadium and Candlestick Park). Here are some notable games.

Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Chicago Cardinals, November 23, 1958. My only trip to my favorite baseball stadium for football was the second-to-last NFL game at Comiskey Park. The Cardinals played home games the following year in Soldier Field (4) and Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, Minnesota (2), before moving to St. Louis for the 1960 season. On a beautiful late November afternoon, only 15,946 showed up to see Bobby Layne go 16 for 28 for 352 yards, including the 4^th-quarter 78-yard TD pass to Jimmy Orr that gave the Steelers the 27-20 win. Cardinals speedster Ollie Matson, who was later traded to the Los Angeles Rams for nine players, ran back the opening kickoff 101 yards. 

Green Bay Packers vs. Chicago Bears, November 17, 1963. On the way to their first NFL championship since 1946, the Bears forced 7 turnovers (5 interceptions and 2 fumble recoveries) and 5 quarterback sacks in the 26-7 triumph. This was our first Bears game, for which we learned the difference between Cubs chairs and Bears chairs (The View From Brule Lake: Lesson Learned: Cubs Chairs vs. Bears Chairs (brulelaker.blogspot.com)) the hard way. Because the team put bleachers in right field to increase the seating capacity, the Bears didn’t play home games until after the baseball season ended. President Kennedy was assassinated five days later, and the NFL would regretfully proceed with its November 24 schedule, although no games were broadcast on television or radio. 

Detroit Lions vs. Chicago Bears, November 11, 2018. This was my last Bears paper ticket (I don’t know if some type of paper ticket still exists). The team has generally produced graphically excellent tickets, which I save during my yearly trek to Soldier Field among other things to check how I they jack up the ticket prices. The Bears won 9 of their last 10 regular-season games, including this 34-22 win in which Mitch Trubisky completed 23 of 30 passes for 355 yards and 3TDs and Matthew Stafford was sacked six times, to make the postseason. Double Doink . . . need I say more? 

University of Illinois vs. Northwestern University, October 6, 1962. The Wildcats would win their first six games and reach #1 ranking, including the 45-0 rout of the Fighting Illini, before losing to Wisconsin and Michigan State and falling out of Rose Bowl contention. There is no attendance figure for the game; Northwestern averaged 45,929 that season, including the largest crowd in stadium history – 55,752 – vs. Notre Dame. Our father began taking Frank and me to Dyche Stadium to see his alma mater in the late 1950s. 

Purdue University vs. University of Illinois, November 2, 1963. Our only trip to dad’s alma mater came one year after turning a disastrous 2-7 season into a Big Ten championship and Rose Bowl victory, 17-7, vs. the University of Washington. Jim Grabowski scored three touchdowns and All-American Dick Butkus anchored the defense in the 41-21 win before approximately 62,000 fans. 

Lehigh University vs. University of Pennsylvania, September 30, 1967. No ticket stub for the game at Franklin Field during my freshman year at Lehigh. The stadium, currently undergoing a $44 million renovation for which only the north stands are open, is credited by the NCAA as the oldest college football stadium. The Philadelphia Eagles played here from 1958 to 1970 after moving from Connie Mack Stadium. Constructed in 1895, seating capacity at the time was 60,658; it’s been reduced to 52,958. Penn beat Lehigh, 35-23, before 10,502.

University of Oklahoma vs. University of Miami, January 1, 1988. My only bowl game and visit to the legendary Orange Bowl in Miami. I got the tickets from a client headquartered in Chandler, Oklahoma. The #1 Sooners took on the #2 Hurricanes in what served as a national championship game for the two undefeated teams. Miami defeated Oklahoma, 20-14, before 74,760 fans. The respective coaches, Barry Switzer and Jimmy Johnson, would both later coach the Dallas Cowboys and both lead them to Super Bowl wins.

 

Indiana University vs. Northwestern University, October 22, 2016. My final entry, marking Janet’s first major-college football game, features a StubHub print-at-home ticket. The Wildcats trounced the Hoosiers, 24-14, in a contest featuring a combined 102 passes (NU’s Clayton Thorson, 24-43 for 285 yards and 3 TD; Richard Lagrow, 35-59 for 317 yards and 2 interceptions). Attendance was 35,417, almost 12,000 below capacity on a beautiful Saturday afternoon.