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View Full Version : PSA authentication and provenance, Possible Ty Cobb HR at Fenway Ticket?


Drift
01-22-2014, 02:48 AM
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Scott Garner
01-22-2014, 04:46 AM
Hi Martin,
What you would have to establish is whether the off day in the original Red Sox schedule showed them off on either May 9th or May 10th, 1912. Perhaps someone on net54 has a 1912 Red Sox schedule? It might be worth asking the Q.

The ticket you own is a stub, so it is obvious that a patron used it for admission at some point in 1912. Since May 8th (the date on your ticket) was a rainout, it would have been used to gain admission for the unscheduled game on either May 9th or 10th, 1912. There would not have been a pre-printed ticket to this game with the date on it.
I say this because of the info that you provided about the Red Sox were hosting Detroit for a 3 game series and they played a 3 game series in spite of the rainout.

As to your Q as whether your ticket was used for the 2nd game of the series on May 9th or 10th: It would depend if the 2nd game played in the series was the unscheduled one or a scheduled one. If May 9th was the unscheduled date, you may have a possible case.

Also consider looking at the original Boston (Globe) newspaper archives online. You may find a clue as far as what actually happened within these game recaps, especially because it's a local paper. ;)

Scott

Drift
01-22-2014, 08:59 AM
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Scott Garner
01-22-2014, 09:16 AM
Thanks for the response Scott, so I took your advice and looked over the Boston Globe archives online (Great resource!)

The May 9th issue stated that the rainout would be made up in a doubleheader the next time the Tigers visit Detroit.

This meant the July 12th contest in Fenway vs the Detroit Tigers was a doubleheader.

There were an awful lot of rainouts and doubleheaders in the 1912 season :D

This ticket sure took me on an adventure.

There you go! I'm glad you found this helpful.
What happened in the doubleheader, BTW?

Scott Garner
01-22-2014, 09:32 AM
Martin,
I did a little research and it looks like in the 2nd game of the doubleheader Smoky Joe Wood threw an 11 inning shutout against the Tigers, allowing only 5 hits.

This was his 21st win in his league-leading breakout season in 1912 when he won 34 games. Pretty cool! :)

Drift
01-22-2014, 02:15 PM
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thecatspajamas
01-22-2014, 02:58 PM
http://sports.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleNo=7065&lotNo=81346#88198819224

Take a look at this lot of 1912 stubs offered through Heritage a while back, one of which has the full paragraph of "fine print" at the bottom that is mostly torn off of yours. It reads:

"If legal game is not played, this check may be changed at Box Office for admission to any American League game on these grounds during 1912."

Based on my reading of that, while it is clear that your ticket was used for admission to a game, there is no way to determine exactly what game it was used for, as it could have been used for any game during the remainder of the 1912 season. Unless they had a particular way of marking the stub to indicate the date it was used (which doesn't appear to be the case), it looks to me like the write-up that PSA gave it is as specific as they can get.

Scott Garner
01-22-2014, 03:13 PM
http://sports.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleNo=7065&lotNo=81346#88198819224

Take a look at this lot of 1912 stubs offered through Heritage a while back, one of which has the full paragraph of "fine print" at the bottom that is mostly torn off of yours. It reads:

"If legal game is not played, this check may be changed at Box Office for admission to any American League game on these grounds during 1912."

Based on my reading of that, while it is clear that your ticket was used for admission to a game, there is no way to determine exactly what game it was used for, as it could have been used for any game during the remainder of the 1912 season. Unless they had a particular way of marking the stub to indicate the date it was used (which doesn't appear to be the case), it looks to me like the write-up that PSA gave it is as specific as they can get.

Good detective work, Lance! I would have to agree with your logic...

That being said, the way that PSA handles annual passes as equivalent to a ticket to an actual individual game, they are pretty footloose and fancy free. If you pay them enough money, it seems as though they have no problem creating a ticket bio that borders on fiction, IMHO. :rolleyes:

I personally am not a fan of PSA slabbing tickets...

thecatspajamas
01-22-2014, 03:28 PM
That being said, the way that PSA handles annual passes as equivalent to a ticket to an actual individual game, they are pretty footloose and fancy free.

Hmmm, so I guess by that "annual pass" logic, the submitter should be able to choose any subsequent home game for that season to appear on the flip, since it technically could have been used for any game for the rest of the season. :rolleyes: Yeah, I agree with the disdain for the whole "this could have been used for such and such an event" being on the flip for annual passes and such. Seems like the item should just be labeled for what it is, and leave the inventive storytelling to eBay sellers and auction houses.