Pitting the best players from the American League and National League against each other, The All-Star Game made its debut on July 6, 1933 at Chicago's Comiskey Park. Arch Ward, a sports editor for the Chicago Tribune, thought of the idea for the game as a draw to coincide with the celebration of Chicago's Century of Progress Exposition. While the game featured such future Hall of Famers as Gehrig, Foxx, Simmons, etc., of course it was Ruth's star that shone brightest. As the game's biggest attraction, Ruth even inspired the respect of his National League counterparts. Said St. Louis hurler and NL Starter 'Wild Bill' Hallahan: “We wanted to see Babe Ruth. Sure, he was old and had a big waistline, but that didn't make any difference. We were on the same field as Babe Ruth.” Ruth thrilled the fans as he blasted a home run that proved to be the difference in the AL's 4-2 victory.
Presented here is one of only three original, full, unused tickets from this landmark event that has been authenticated and encapsulated by PSA to date. Graded GD PSA 2, this is the companion ticket to Seat #639, also graded GD PSA 2, which sold in our December, 2015 Auction for $33,378. These tickets were found together (loose) in a scrapbook. Prior to this discovery, the only other full ticket handled by PSA had been encapsulated as AUTHENTIC. Far below the condition level of the offered example, it sold at auction in 2011 for over $19,000. The newly discovered ticket presented here has the immediate appearance of EX condition, however some light surface creasing on the front warrants technical deductions. It’s hard to imagine someone with such a ticket to such a highly celebrated, groundbreaking event in the baseball mad city of Chicago leaving their seat empty, especially considering the “Lower Deck” location this ticket afforded. That unlikely absence 82 years ago, however, now leaves one lucky person the chance to own one of the great treasures in the field of sports ticket collecting.