Early Friday morning, the highest-grade ticket stub from Michael Jordan’s 1984 NBA debut sold at Huggins & Scott Auctions for $252,000.
In fitting fashion for Jordan, that price shattered the previous sporting event ticket sale price record, besting a 1903 World Series ticket that sold for $175,000 in October, according to a release from Huggins & Scott. A stub from Mickey Mantle’s 1951 debut, which went for $141,395, now moves to third.
Bidding for the Jordan stub, which received a grade of EX-MT 6 from Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA), began at $5,000. The record price also more than quadruples the previous high for a ticket from Jordan’s debut of $56,000.
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Jordan made his NBA debut on Oct. 26, 1984 against the Washington Bullets in a game played in front of 13,913 fans at the old Chicago Stadium. He notched 16 points, seven assists, six rebounds and four blocks in a 16-point Chicago Bulls victory.
Surely, none in attendance knew they were witnessing the beginning of what many consider the great NBA player of all time’s career. If they did – and could see 37 years into the future – more would have probably held on to their ticket stubs.