Auctions
Demand for collectible, historic tickets sparks launch of Front Row Auctions
Scarcity and rarity drive the collectibles market.
That concept holds true in the ticket space as well, whether it’s for sports, concerts or historical events. It’s the in-person connection that makes that small slip of paper such a valuable memento.
Tickets and their significance in sports and pop culture is an area that collectors have started gravitating toward. In just the last few years, tickets have become highly desirable.
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Howard Citron, Shaun Dougherty and Ryan Hotchkiss are all big ticket collectors. The trio founded Front Row Auctions in an effort to bring ticket collecting front and center in the hobby.
“We’ve always said, this thing is really going to take off,” Citron said. “You look at some of these other more niche collectibles like Type I photos, hockey memorabilia, there’s a golf auction, and they’re doing very well. They’re catering to the specific collector. We always kept saying to ourselves, tickets need that. We need our own kind of ticket-centric auction. Now that we’re starting to see a big rise in the prices and the interest and card collectors are migrating into this, we just thought it was time to do it.”
Ticket prices for sports debuts by iconic athletes have stolen the spotlight over the last few years. In 2022, a ticket stub from Jackie Robinson’s MLB debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers, graded PSA 2, sold for $480,000. That set a record for the most ever paid for a sports ticket. In the same auction, the only known full ticket to Michael Jordan’s NBA debut with the Chicago Bulls in 1984 fetched $468,000. It is graded PSA Authentic.
Just like with Jordan cards—especially his 1984 Star #101 and 1986 Fleer—his tickets have exploded in popularity.
“They really have gone crazy, and rightfully so,” Citron said. “I’ll be candid, I just think they have so much more to grow. If someone were to say there’s only about 50 to 60 known Michael Jordan debut tickets, whether it’s a season ticket version or whether it’s a box office version or whether it’s a Ticketron version, whatever it is, there’s only 50 to 60 of them in the population period that are known right now. So, how can you not find 60 fans of Michael Jordan who want the very best, the very rarest, the most scarce items from his career.
“I suspect people are going to be eventually fighting and competing for those 50-60, and that’s going to drive the price up so much. Right now, the prices are pretty significant. But I’ll be honest with you, I think they’re undervalued. Do I think they’re a million dollars at some point? I don’t know. But are they certainly a half a million dollars? Maybe, probably.”
Citron believes the migration of card collectors into the ticket space could be because prices on cards have become so expensive that collectors are looking at diving into different areas.
“Collectors who used to be able to afford all of the expensive cards, now are priced out of those and they’re looking for other collectibles that are more moderately priced to put their money in,” said Citron, whose day job is as a managing partner at the law firm LaCava Jacobsen & Goodis in Florida. “The rarity and scarcity of tickets and also the closeness to the game, the fact that using that ticket granted you entrance for someone to actually go see what was happening on the field or to experience a player’s debut game or to experience one of the greatest moments in sports, I think that entices a lot of collectors.”
When some kids were collecting cards back in the 1950s and ’60s, if they headed to a sporting event, it was an afterthought for most attendees to keep their ticket.
Whereas a 1986 Fleer Jordan card in a PSA 10 has a population of just over 300, there are only about 60 PSA graded tickets that exist from his NBA debut.
“If I went on right now to eBay, I would be able to find, without hesitation, listings of Mickey Mantle 1952 Topps cards, 1951 Bowman cards. I would be able to find Michael Jordan 1986 Fleer rookies. If you asked me how many Mickey Mantle debut tickets are on eBay right now, I think the answer would be zero,” Citron said. “How many have been on eBay in the last however many years? I think the answer would be zero. How many Michael Jordan debuts are on eBay? Maybe one with a very high price tag. But I would probably say none on a more regular basis.”
SEEKING CONSIGNMENTS
Front Row Auctions is planning to hold its inaugural auction after this year’s National Sports Collectors Convention, which runs July 29-Aug. 2 in Chicago. Citron and his partners Dougherty and Hotchkiss are planning to pick up as many consignments as possible during The National.
“By that time frame, we’re going to have some amazing tickets,” Citron said. “Someone reached out to me today with something I’ve never seen myself and certainly has never been auctioned publicly. We’re very excited about that.”
Citron is anticipating his company will run three to four auctions per year. The trio wants Front Row Auctions to have everything covered in their auctions so it’s a one-stop shop for ticket collectors.
“We’re not going to just limit it to sports,” Citron said. “We want concert tickets. We want movie tickets. We want historical tickets. We want presidential inauguration tickets. We want everything ticket related.”
Once the founders get into the flow of their auctions, Citron anticipates they will feature more niche collectibles, such as MLB debut tickets and soccer tickets since there are a ton of international ticket collectors.
“I think we’re going to try to cast a pretty wide net and make sure we try to cover everything,” Citron said. “I’m sure as we progress with this business, I’m sure we’ll have some more focused auctions as well where we try to limit it to certain sports or certain specialties.”
CITRON'S PC
Citron has been building his personal ticket collection for quite some time. He is trying to become a little more focused in his ticket collecting, because he feels like he’s all over the place.
But Citron mainly collects tickets from memorable events. If a ticket is historical in nature and has an important historical story attached to it that is right up Citron’s alley.
“I try to collect incredible stories,” Citron said. “I may buy a ticket, and I may buy a card and a may buy a program and I may buy something else to help build and create the story. When I’m displaying these things, people come over and say, ‘Wow.’ There’s a ticket from the game with a program, then there’s a base card and it just tells a phenomenal story. I do like the moments. I do collect some debuts but if there’s some socially historical aspect to the ticket, someone breaking the color barrier or someone is the first to do something, that’s very important to my collection.”
Growing up a huge fan of Philadelphia sports, Citron has picked up a variety of championship tickets and various items associated with area teams.
One of Citron’s favorite individual pieces is a pass to all the Brooklyn Dodgers’ home games during the 1947 season. Whoever carried that pass was able to see Jackie Robinson’s MLB debut when he broke the color barrier.
Citron’s most prized possession has both history and celebrity appeal. It’s a ticket to President John F. Kennedy’s birthday party in 1962. Citron didn’t know a ticket existed from that event until he stumbled upon it.
“It’s when Marilyn Monroe sang ‘Happy birthday, Mr. President,’ to him,” Citron said. “I was shocked that that even exists. It’s an unbelievable piece of art. It has a picture of John Kennedy on it, it’s red, white and blue.”
HIGHS AND LOWS
Just like with trading cards, prices for tickets run the whole gamut. They can range from the Robinson debut ticket hitting nearly a half million dollars all the way down to just a few bucks.
Front Row Auctions is going to offer both high- and low-end ticket options. Citron wants to introduce collectors to tickets, and that means pieces that a regular collector can afford.
“You can’t have everything be the toughest tickets in town that are going to be six-figure tickets or high five-figure tickets. We want our auction house to be able to start inviting new collectors to be able to pick up things that are meaningful to them that aren’t going to break the bank,” Citron said. “We will be offering tickets as well that are from memorable events, debuts that are not going to be incredibly expensive, because we want people to start gravitating into tickets. I’ll be honest, too, once you’re in, you’re hooked. It doesn’t get any better. The hunt is so important.”
