A 1923 World Series ticket stub signed by Babe Ruth resold for $189,100, up from $71,700 in 2014. Dave Youhanaie of Dave Buys Ticket Stubs weighs in on the sale.
Chicago, IL (PRUnderground) September 8th, 2026
Dave Buys Ticket Stubs, a specialist in buying and researching vintage sports and concert ticket stubs, is commenting on a notable resale at Heritage Auctions. A 1923 World Series Game Six ticket stub signed by Babe Ruth sold for $189,100 at Heritage Auctions' Summer Platinum Night Sports Auction in Dallas on August 21. The same stub last sold at Heritage in August 2014 for $71,700.
"In sports cards, we've become accustomed to seeing major pieces sell in the high six figures or even millions of dollars," said Dave Youhanaie, founder of Dave Buys Ticket Stubs. "Ticket stub collecting remains a much smaller niche, and sales approaching $200,000 are exceptionally rare. I would estimate that fewer than 30 ticket sales have ever reached or exceeded this level, so this is unquestionably an important sale for the hobby."
The stub, graded PSA/DNA Mint 9, is one of only two known examples signed by Ruth from the game in which the Yankees defeated the New York Giants 6-4 to clinch the franchise's first World Series title. That kind of historical context is also part of the research Dave Buys Ticket Stubs applies when evaluating vintage baseball ticket stubs, most of which carry no signature or auction pedigree at all.
Its price rose from $71,700 in 2014 to $189,100 in 2026, a gain of more than $117,000, or about 164%, over 12 years. Youhanaie said the sale also invites a comparison between collectible appreciation and other types of investments. He pointed out that a traditional investment tracking the broader stock market would likely have grown by a similar or larger amount over the same 12 years. He added that any such comparison overlooks the transaction costs of buying and selling high-end collectibles. Even with that caveat, he said the sale stands as one of the more uncommon documented gains in the history of ticket collecting.
"I've always believed collectors should primarily buy what excites them," Youhanaie said. "The financial return is wonderful when it happens, but there is also value in spending years owning and enjoying something extraordinary. A ticket from the deciding game of the 1923 World Series, signed by Babe Ruth and graded PSA/DNA Mint 9, is about as spectacular as ticket collecting gets. I can't imagine many tickets I'd rather have had sitting in a collection for those 12 years."
Dave Buys Ticket Stubs has built a database of more than 300,000 logged ticket stubs dating back to roughly 1909. Roughly 90% of the company's purchases are ordinary regular-season games and mid-tier concert dates rather than championship games or headline tours. The company applies the same cross-referencing process to every submission it receives, whether a stub is graded and signed by a Hall of Famer or sitting loose in a shoebox from a game nobody remembers.
Dave Buys Ticket Stubs offers sellers a no-obligation cash offer based on photos submitted through its website, with a response typically issued in as little as 10 minutes. The company covers shipping costs and pays through PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, or check. For more information or to submit a collection for review, visit DaveBuysTicketStubs.com.
