Lot # 1025: Historically Significant 7/30/60 Boston Patriots vs. Buffalo Bills 1st Ever AFL Game Full Ticket - PSA NM 7 - "1 of 3" - Highest Graded!

Starting Bid: $1,000.00

Bids: 34 (Bid History)

Time Left: Auction closed
Lot / Auction Closed




This lot is closed. Bidding is not allowed.

Item was in Auction "Summer Auction 2024",
which ran from 7/18/2024 12:00 PM to
8/1/2024 10:00 PM



Add a significant piece of football history to your collection with this 7/30/60 Buffalo Bills full ticket from the first ever AFL game. PSA has recently encapsulated this long-secluded, unused full ticket with a favorable grade of (NM 7), making in "1 of 3" at this level with none higher. Held by the original owner all these years, this historically significant ticket is an astonishing find for both ticket seekers and AFL specialists, as souvenirs from the early days of AFL play are in very short supply. Noted on the grading label are the date "1960 Buffalo Bills/Jul. 30," the score of the game "Patriots -28, Bills-7" and the location "Exhibition/Civic Stadium."



The back story goes like this. On 9/9/60, the AFL presented its first regular-season game. Predating that event, was the first ever AFL game, a preseason contest between the Buffalo Bills and Boston Patriots, played on 7/30/60, at Buffalo's War Memorial Stadium, where history was made. In the summer of 1959, Lamar Hunt and his associates starting putting the American Football League together. In a real show of "can do" spirit, they had the fledgling football league up and running in less than a year, truly a magnificent accomplishment. The upstart AFL proved to be an exciting product. Formed with eight teams in 1960, the AFL expanded to 10 teams in 1967. Joe Namath made good on his famous win guarantee in Super Bowl III, leading his New York Jets to victory over the heavily favored Baltimore Colts. The Kansas City Chiefs followed up the next season with a win over the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IV, cementing the AFL's legitimacy. All 10 AFL teams were merged into the NFL in 1970, a testament to the devotion of the league's hometown fans and also of its national appeal.



This full ticket is from the collection of our savvy consignor, who has held and protected a good number of 1960s AFL game full tickets since the dates of her original purchases in the 1960s. A total of six PSA-graded 1960s AFL tickets from this collection are included in this current Huggins and Scott Summer 2024 auction, along with two graded 1950 AHL hockey tickets and a bundle of 1980s-1990s NFL tickets, which are not graded. More AFL top-grade examples from this collection will follow in our coming Winter auction.

Opening Bid $1,000.

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