For the first time in hobby history, each of the four 1919 World Series games played at Cincinnati's Redland Field (Games 1, 2, 6 & 7) are being offered in the same auction, an unprecedented scenario considering how hard it is to find just one stub from any of the eight games played.

Few moments in baseball history carry the weight of October 1, 1919, when the Chicago White Sox and Cincinnati Reds met at Redland Field to open what would become the most infamous World Series ever played. This ticket stub from Game 1 is the highest graded example known, one of only two to receive the EX-MT 6 designation from PSA, and it stands as an extraordinary survivor from the day the "Black Sox" scandal began.

The heavily favored White Sox sent ace Eddie Cicotte to the mound, and his second pitch of the game struck Reds leadoff hitter Morris Rath in the back, a pre-arranged signal to gamblers that the fix was on. Cincinnati routed Cicotte and cruised to a 9-1 victory behind Dutch Ruether, setting the stage for the Reds' shocking series win in eight games (best-of-nine format). The scandal ultimately resulted in eight Chicago players – "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, Buck Weaver and Cicotte included – being banned from baseball for life by Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis.

The left side identifies this as a "Pavilion Seat" ticket issued by the "Cincinnati National League Base Ball Club", with "World's Series 1919 Redland Field" printed in black. The "GAME 1" designation is boxed in bold red print. Admission price was $2.00 with a 20-cent war tax. A large "Rain Check" with fine print explanation in black is followed by "The Roessler Bros., Cincinnati" printer credit in red at the bottom. On the right side of the perforated dividing line is the entrance information for Findlay Street in black, with serial number "7750" on the lower right in red. The reverse provides the rain check terms with a facsimile signature of Cincinnati Reds club president August Herrmann and references the Revenue Act of 1918 for resale violators.

Both sides of the beige body with a faint green accented background display firm paper stock, a clean and crease-free surface, strong print, straight edges, and square corners. Hard to imagine a better-preserved stub from the opening game of the Black Sox scandal will ever surface. An essential artifact of a defining event in American history. Encapsulated PSA EX-MT 6 (highest graded, pop two).

It should be noted that no full unused tickets from the controversial 1919 World Series are known to exist. Vintage baseball ticket stubs from this era often featured a main body, a gate/turnstile stub section, and a rain check coupon. This is considered a complete stub with two sections as opposed to a torn partial stub with just one remaining, making it far more valuable. There are currently 37 complete stubs from Game 1 in the PSA population report, with this being the highest grade.  A complete Game 1 stub graded PSA GD 2 recently sold for over $30,000. In 2025, a PSA 2 stub from the clinching Game 8 sold for nearly $60,000.