Hank Aaron 1st Hit/Run/Home Game Program Owned By Bob Botz

[WillowGrove]

As a Mets fan, i love that info. I didnt know about him!

The Aaron program is solid, first game the home fans got to see him, but the research is the fun part.

Thanks for posting!

[doug.goodman]

The opening day and Aaron firsts are the value of this program. The Bob Botz connection not so much.

The values on scored programs (is this one scored?) tend to be all over the place, leaning towards the cheap end, that's why I have over 6,000 of them.

If you were to put this one up on ebay for $100, I doubt it would sell.

If you were to put it up with a $10 starting bid it might go for over $100, it might go for $10.

I got Pete Rose's major league debut and first scored run game for $11. That one wasn't described very well, thus the deal.

My Aaron first career HR game was $370, while his second career HR set me back $32. Both of those were described perfectly.

Musial's career hits #3001-3002-3003 game was $4, with a so-so description.

As you may have noticed, the description is almost more important than the events. But not always.

It's a cool program, congrats.

Doug


PS - generally speaking, nobody cares about programs when compared to tickets.

[bigfanNY]

Programs get a bum rap. Tough to store tough to display and the older they are the more likely that they might need some sort of professional restoration or protection to prevent deterioration.
On the other hand Ebay has bought fourth an amazing variety and quantity of programs. In the past 2 years I picked up some programs that I would have bet did not exist. They are gems to me but rocks to most of the collecting world.
For early pro baseball 1871 until 1879 I would say there are less than 100 total programs (definitely less than 200). That picks up quickly as 1880's programs can be found almost all the time on Ebay and at most major shows. They were small mostly 2 pages and fit nicely in scrapbooks that were popular at the time. During the 1890's scorecards gave way to programs a few more pages and the size was larger. This led to fewer surviving. Players leauge programs federal leauge programs both very scarce as well as turn of the century programs early American Leauge tough. With most of the examples I have seen from Boston and Philadelphia. The paper Drives during both wars saw many early baseball treasures recycled.
I may never see the day when programs appreciate but that dose not take away one bit how much I appreciate them.

[doug.goodman]

Originally Posted by bigfanNY

Programs get a bum rap. Tough to store tough to display and the older they are the more likely that they might need some sort of professional restoration or protection to prevent deterioration.
On the other hand Ebay has bought fourth an amazing variety and quantity of programs. In the past 2 years I picked up some programs that I would have bet did not exist. They are gems to me but rocks to most of the collecting world.
For early pro baseball 1871 until 1879 I would say there are less than 100 total programs (definitely less than 200). That picks up quickly as 1880's programs can be found almost all the time on Ebay and at most major shows. They were small mostly 2 pages and fit nicely in scrapbooks that were popular at the time. During the 1890's scorecards gave way to programs a few more pages and the size was larger. This led to fewer surviving. Players league programs federal league programs both very scarce as well as turn of the century programs early American League tough. With most of the examples I have seen from Boston and Philadelphia. The paper Drives during both wars saw many early baseball treasures recycled.
I may never see the day when programs appreciate but that dose not take away one bit how much I appreciate them.

Exactly.

Except they are easy to store. Boards and bags, just like comics, which can be put into binders if you choose, or in boxes, just like comics.

[ibuysportsephemera]

Programs, Yearbooks and Publications have been the major part of my collection since the late 1980's. A conservative estimate of the number of publications in my collection is around 17,500 to 20,000. I love the articles, pictures and historic content.


Well said by Doug and Jon.


Jeff

[Scott Garner]

So many great responses on this thread!
Doug's advise below is next to gospel, FWIW.

The opening day and Aaron firsts are the value of this program. The Bob Botz connection not so much.

The values on scored programs (is this one scored?) tend to be all over the place, leaning towards the cheap end, that's why I have over 6,000 of them.

If you were to put this one up on ebay for $100, I doubt it would sell.

If you were to put it up with a $10 starting bid it might go for over $100, it might go for $10.

I got Pete Rose's major league debut and first scored run game for $11. That one wasn't described very well, thus the deal.

My Aaron first career HR game was $370, while his second career HR set me back $32. Both of those were described perfectly.

Musial's career hits #3001-3002-3003 game was $4, with a so-so description.

As you may have noticed, the description is almost more important than the events. But not always.

It's a cool program, congrats.

Doug

[bigfanNY]

One point I might argue is that a basebsll program being scored is most times the only way to be sure that a program is from a specific day. This is because scorecards are typically printed just before a visiting team comes to town and if they play 2, 3 or 4 games the preprinted lineup is the same. One clear example is Lou Gehrig's last game vs Washington. Same program for a couple games and scored copies from his last game bring a premium.
I have a Ruth Program from Detroit when he hit his 700th home run but mine is scored and clearly from next day when he hit 701. Would a unscored program be worth more because it could be from 700? That is part of the reason why program prices can be all over the place..

[MCyganik]

I loved all of the well-thought out responses in this thread and in my short time collecting programs I echo the variance of "value" that they bring in the market. On one hand I wish the hobby would appreciate these treasures of history/art more compared to the fanatical values that cards bring for their history and art. On the other, because they are under-appreciated for the most part, a "high dollar" item for me on a rare, maybe very rarely ever seen again program is a drop in the bucket for a pre-war card among many in a set that other collectors chase. So for someone with a tight budget and a young family, it feels attainable to acquire vintage memorabilia in this way, and affords a level of research that I get out of placing the program within the context of its game, series, season, culture etc.

Jeff - that sounds like an incredible collection. How do you have it set up?

Are there any resources or collector hubs for programs/scorecard etc collectors out there? I'm part of a little used Facebook group but it seems like outside of tons of personal research on my own and talking to the occasional collector like this on this forum, there's not a ton of central knowledge about this area of collecting.

[71buc]

Last year I lucked into a lot of ten 1971 Pirates scored programs. I was the only bidder. Among them was a beautifully scored September 1, 1971 program which featured the first all minority MLB starting line-up. That game pretty much sums up my love for that team and my collection. I would love to find a stub to that game but have yet to encounter one. I find that odd as there were 11,278 in attendance. I can't imagine that even a third of those in attendance both purchased and scored a program. It would seem that the odds of finding such programs are much less than finding a stub.

[ibuysportsephemera]

Originally Posted by MCyganik

Jeff - that sounds like an incredible collection. How do you have it set up?

See the photos...this is just a part of the collection. Sorted by sport and then team.

Originally Posted by MCyganik

Are there any resources or collector hubs for programs/scorecard etc collectors out there? I'm part of a little used Facebook group but it seems like outside of tons of personal research on my own and talking to the occasional collector like this on this forum, there's not a ton of central knowledge about this area of collecting.

Other than Net54 I am not aware of a good place or resource that focuses on Programs or Scorecards.


Jeff