1957 Full Ticket from the Last Brooklyn Dodgers Game at Ebbets Field

Sold For:

$1,800

Year:

1957

Auction:

2017 Fall

Lot #:

1990

Category:

Post-1900 Baseball Memorabilia

Full ticket issued for the final Brooklyn Dodgers game at Ebetts Field held on September 24, 1957. Graded NM 7(MK) by PSA. This is 1 of only 4 examples graded at this level, with just 2 graded higher. While Brooklyn Dodgers fans were always a resilient group, forever buoyed by the familiar refrain of "wait 'til next year," nothing could have prepared them at the start of the 1957 season for what just a few short years earlier would have been the unthinkable: the Dodgers leaving Brooklyn. Yet, that is just what happened when, on October 8, 1957, team owner Walter O'Malley announced he was moving the Dodgers to Los Angeles. Rumors had been swirling the entire summer of such a possibility, but most fans chose to bury their heads in the sand and ignore such blasphemous talk. Perhaps that's the only way to explain why, on September 24, 1957, only 6,702 fans attended Brooklyn's final home game of the season at Ebbets Field. It is also possible that some fans just could not bear to say goodbye to their beloved "bums" and the venerable old stadium they called home. The significance of the final out was obviously not lost on longtime organist Gladys Gooding, who serenaded the fans with the tune Auld Lang Syne as they exited the ballpark for the very last time. The ticket (5 x 1.25 inches) has the number “38” written in red ink on the front, which is the reason for the qualifier. This ticket represents the last tangible souvenir ever issued by the ball club and, as such, is an extraordinary rarity of great historical significance, and a true "holy grail" for Brooklyn Dodgers collectors. Reserve $500. Estimate $1,000+.