While each professional sports team has legions of fans, from time to time, the most passionate fans become celebrities themselves. In Chicago, "Blackhawk Bob" Gertenrich was such a fan, a Blackhawks hockey fan who began attending home hockey games in 1966 and attended every home game afterward, more than 2,200 in total.  His fandom extended beyond hockey as well, as he attended plenty of other local sporting events, most notably the Chicago Bulls. Gertenrich became a celebrity himself, meeting players and coaches, even garnering a Sports Illustrated feature article.  Sadly, Gertenrich passed away this spring, leaving behind an impressive legacy of passion and devotion to his sports teams.

Gertenrich saved every ticket stub from every game he attended, writing the score and attendance on each.  And although his Blackhawks ticket stubs were certainly impressive (the stub from Wayne Gretzky's NHL debut was featured in our Summer, 2024 auction), the group that caught our eye was the early Chicago Bulls stubs. We have used Gertenrich's outstanding collection to reconstruct Michael Jordan's legendary rookie season, presented here ticket by ticket, game by game, representing the majority of the Chicago home games.

Though Jordan would score 27 points with 8 rebounds and 6 assists, December 11 would mark the beginning of a five-game losing streak for Chicago, as they dropped this game to Detroit, 108-101, with four Pistons scoring 20 points or better. The game has significance among collectors, however, as being the 23rd game of Jordan's career, matching the num bar on his uniform. Graded EX 5 (MK) by PSA, this is an exceptional stub, displaying very little wear.