You might recall our story from over the summer about a Pennsylvania man finding his ticket to the 1962 game in which Wilt Chamberlain scored an NBA record 100 points. That stub is now up for auction.
Sam Verdini was in attendance at the game in Hershey, PA that night more than 60 years ago.
The all but forgotten stub had been sitting in a drawer at his home in Williamsport. After chatting with a friend he dug it out of a junk drawer and contacted a local company called Finding Nostalgia, which put him in touch with Robert Edward Auctions.
The stub was authenticated by PSA and graded 1.5 with an “MK” qualifier because Verdini had inscribed Chamberlain’s feat on the back. It stayed with him through five moves and placement in its humble home next to pens, a stapler, ruler and other household stuff.
“Unfortunately, I wasn’t smart enough to put in an envelope or a holder to protect it,” he says.
“It was my first pro basketball game,” Verdini, an 80-year-old retired manufactured sales representative, says. “I went because I was a Warriors fan. Hershey was only two hours away and Philadelphia was four-and-a-half.”
For many collectors, such notations enhance the authenticity, serving as mini-scorecards. The ticket survived five moves because it was no ordinary stub. “Unfortunately, I wasn’t smart enough to put in an envelope or a holder to protect it,” he says.
No matter. Within hours of the auction’s Friday morning open, bidding had already reached $11,500.
On a cold, rainy Friday night, only 4,124 spectators showed up to watch Wilt make history and just 22 authenticated stubs from the game exist today.
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