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Program Game Date

Filled with baseball tidbits, programs are wonderful pieces of history that pose a challenge for collectors and sellers who want to determine the game date and find any significant events associated with the game. The value of a program increases if a significant event occurred at the game, but finding that significant event depends on knowing the game date. Because programs were rarely dated, exact game date determination of an unscored program may be impossible. At best, the program may be narrowed down to a particular series. There are several excellent baseball information resources that can be used to determine game dates of scored or partially scored programs and to obtain significant event information.

Research Tools

The Baseball Chronology

The most comprehensive printed source of significant baseball events is James Charlton’s The Baseball Chronology (Macmillan Publishing Co., New York: 1991; ISBN 0-02-523971-6). This out of print treasure contains every major event in baseball history, from milestone homers to the seagull that flew over Fenway Park on 17 May 1947 and pelted St. Louis Browns pitcher Ellis Kinder. I was fortunate to get this volume on www.half.com, my favorite source of used books. This chronology is the basis for every website I found that listed significant event information.

The Sporting News

A prime Internet source for baseball information when the game date is known is the Paper of Record online archive located at http://www.paperofrecord.com/Default.asp, which houses an extensive collection of publications, including The Sporting News (TSN), as digital images. Located at http://www.sportingnews.com/archives, these .pdf files reveal entire vintage TSN issues. TSN supplies crucial supplementary information like game recaps, box scores, and coverage of all events, including those of less importance, and also contains the same information on the minor leagues. The Herculean effort that went into digitizing TSN justifies the access fees charged, but the website’s biggest drawback is that its images are in the .pdf format. The perfect file format for large images, .pdf download time over a dialup connection is discouraging. Each page took a painful two minutes to load. If you have either a lot of patience or a broadband connection, you can find and print the TSN page that pertains to your game. Access to Paper of Record is available on a trial basis for 31 days for $16.75. This provides ample time to evaluate TSN and determine whether to commit to the $99.99 yearly fee.

Date Determination

Retrieving a significant game event from either The Baseball Chronology or TSN in a reasonable amount of time requires the game date. Game dates with scores, starting pitchers, and game sites are available at an outstanding, user-friendly website called BaseballLibrary.com. Located at http://www.baseballlibrary.com, this website also provides day-by-day standings, a chronology of significant events derived from Charlton’s book, player biographies, and other information of interest to baseball fans and collectors. All the resources noted can also be used to research dated tickets.

The information in the Baseball Library website, much of which has been gathered together by the folks at www.retrosheet.org, is crucial if you are trying to determine game dates of scored or partially scored programs. If you have a partially scored program or one that notes only the starting pitchers, you have an excellent chance of finding the game date in BaseballLibrary.com. Click on the Teams tab at the top of any page, select the program year from the drop-down menu of the home team, and then begin reviewing dates. To pinpoint the game date, scan the page for the score, opposing team, and starting pitchers that are in the program whose date is being sought. In nearly every instance, the game date can even be determined by knowing only the starting pitchers.

You can check the game date for significant events without leaving the BaseballLibrary.com website. Click on the Chronology tab at the top of the page to access the significant events from Charlton’s chronology presented in a baseball history timeline. Click on the timeframe of the program you are researching, and select the following: the year from the columns on the left side of the web page, the month and the year from the top of the page, and the winning team from the drop-down list at the top of the page. Scroll down to your game date and check for significant events.

If you have the game date already in hand, TSN provides box scores and other game data. The Advanced Search feature is the most efficient search method. Choose your game date from the drop-down menus, use search terms like “Washington Senators Boston Red Sox games score”, and click on Advanced Search. Choose all words from the search type drop-down menu, select a date range of one month, and click on Search to get results. Click on one of the results to open the .pdf file. Before you can download .pdf files, you must download Adobe Reader, which is free from http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html.

Research Methods

Even unscored programs may contain hints to narrow the game date to a particular series. If the program lists coming attractions, your game is from a series before the date of the upcoming event. Programs also frequently contained season schedules. While complete season schedules are of no help in narrowing date ranges, partial schedules indicate that your game is from a series before the series in the schedule. The resources detailed above can be used to determine if a notable event occurred during the series covered by the program. With a little detective work, you may find that an old program gathering dust in the attic is more valuable than you thought!

To find a game date in the BaseballLibrary.com website:
Click on the Teams tab at the top of any page.
Select the program year from the drop-down menu of the home team.
Begin reviewing dates.
Scan the page for the score, opposing team, and starting pitchers.

To check the game date for significant events in the BaseballLibrary.com website:
Click on the Chronology tab at the top of any page.
Click on the timeframe of the program you are researching.
Select the year from the columns on the left side of the web page.
Select the month and the year from the top of the page.
Select the winning team from the drop-down list at the top of the page.
Scroll down to your game date and check for significant events.

Search TSN for box scores and other game data:
Choose your game date from the drop-down menus.
Use search terms like “Washington Senators Boston Red Sox games score”.
Click on Advanced Search.
Choose all words from the search type drop-down menu.
Select a date range of one month.
Click on Search to get results.
Click on one of the results to open the .pdf file.
To read .pdf files, download Adobe Reader from http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html.

Program Values

Major league baseball program/scorecard values depend primarily on condition and on significant events that occurred at a game. Average prices for programs/scorecards without significant events are as follows:
Late 1960s, $15.00-$25.00;
Early to mid 1960s, $20.00-$35.00;
Late 1950s, $25.00-$50.00;
Mid 1950s, $30.00-$60.00;
Early 1950s, $35.00-$75.00;
Late 1940s, $40.00-$80.00;
Early to mid 1940s, $45.00-100.00.