You can get them signed. You can store them in a box. But unlike a lot of collectibles, with a World Series program from any year, you get a little slice of baseball history that costs less than an arm and a leg.
Got a 1903 Pittsburgh?
They're not all cheap.
Try buying a pre-World War II World Series program and you'll find that out quickly. Pre-World War I? Good luck finding them.
Yet for the most part, the World Series program doesn't get a ton of respect from collectors or those looking for a great sports memorabilia investment. Maybe it should.
Fewer Series programs exist than a lot of baseball cards from similar eras. And if you're talking vintage, they're fascinating to look at. Some of the luster came off in the 1970s, when things got a little homogenized. Luckily, technology has improved and the days of the totally generic World Series program may be gone again.
USA Today paid homage to this century-old rite of October.
