NBA
Ticket stub from Michael Jordan's debut game sells for record price
The NBA legend still seems to have a hold on records even though his career has long since come to an end.
Even though his playing days are well behind him, Michael Jordan still continues to break records, this time in the auction house.
Ticket stub for Michael Jordan's debut breaks records
According to reports on Friday morning, Michael Jordan was once again immortalized as a ticket stub for his debut game in the NBA sold for a record breaking price. Having received a grade of EX-MT 6 - the highest grade there is - from Professional Sports Authenticator, or PSA, the stub from Michael Jordan's NBA debut sold for $264,000 at auction, breaking the record for most expensive collectible sports ticket ever sold. Michael Jordan of course played his first game in the league in front of more than 13,000 fans as the Chicago Bulls took on the Washington Bullets at the now-demolished Chicago Stadium on Oct. 26, 1984.
Selling a piece of Michael Jordan's history
The sale itself, which was conducted by Huggins & Scott Auctions, included a 20% buyer's premium. That being said, even without the aforementioned premium, the sale would have still broken the previous record, set in October when a ticket stub from Game 3 of the 1903 (and first) World Series sold for $175,000 at Christie's auction. There was also a stub from Mickey Mantle’s 1951 debut, which sold for $141,395 and now now moves to third.
For history buffs, it's fitting to know that on that night in October 1984, the Bulls beat the Bullets by a score of 109-93, with Jordan himself scoring 16 points to go with 6 rebounds and 7 assists.There were also 4 blocks on the night which incidentally is the third most by a rookie in a team's season opener in league history. It is understood that bidding for the stub started at $5,000 Of course this is not the first time that a piece of Jordan's memorabilia has sold at an eye opening price. In late October, a pair of his game-worn sneakers from that same rookie season sold at Sotheby's for $1.472 million, which decimated the record for most expensive game-worn footwear, which if you guessed it had also been held by Jordan.
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Had they known what Michael Jordan would become
While critics will undoubtedly question the amount paid for a small ticket stub, the reality remains that the individual who maintained it certainly had foresight. Surely, few if any could have imagined that some 37 years ago, they were watching a youngster who would go on to be unanimously considered the greatest player in the NBA's history. If they did, one has to imagine a lot more tickets would have been kept.