[This article was published on 2-17-24 in The Boston Globe. As there has been some (relative) traction gained by ticket stub collections, it seems worthwhile to collect those articles here.]
It all started with this article in September, 2019 by Sports Illustrated’s Steve Rushin. I had always kept, much to my wife’s consternation, ticket stubs. She never quite could understand the collection, which of course predated her, and, to be honest, never could I. They sat in a plastic bin that sat, well, in another plastic bin. Easily accessible enough that it wasn’t too onerous to add to the collection but by no means prominent or even available. Rushin’s article, however, codified for me at least the nostalgia that the ticket stubs represented for me: they are genuine artifacts, not purchased at some inflated concession stand, not (excessively) designed or marketed, and with the added bonus of contextual info: date, time, location.
Fast forward to late winter 2020. I’m an Assistant Coach for a semi-pro women’s soccer team in Worcester, MA and, in discussion with the owner about the history of the team, we discuss the history of Worcester and women’s soccer, even joking about a Worcester Women’s Soccer Museum. And while a physical museum seemed a bit much, perhaps, as I was revamping the team’s website, I figured why not a virtual museum? Which led to this page (now defunct) on the team’s website. I knew I had ticket stubs from the games, which I figured would provide good (virtual) artifacts for the ‘museum’, so I photographed them and posted them.
The photographs came out great and it occurred to me that a virtual collection of ticket stubs might be the best option for showcasing them. Coincidentally, my son owed me some forced labor (he defaced his brother’s toy) and so I put him on photographing all of the ticket stubs. It just falls to me then to post them and organize them.
That posting and organizing happened relatively quickly, as I realized not only what the collection represented for me but also how a careful cataloging of it allows that collection to represent the history and progression of different sports, activities, leagues, artists, price points, etc. The site then is not necessarily meant to be scrolled (they are not necessarily posted in chronological order, especially the original collection and any surprise tickets that I might have found along the way) but rather the categories menu at right provides the best way to scan the collection and organize the results.
Welcome to My Ticket Stub Collection 