The Largest Private Sports Memorabilia Collection In The Southeast

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Artifact of the Month

The Tickets That Survived Nearly 100 Years

October 12, 1929 • Georgia vs. Yale • Sanford Stadium

When Sanford Stadium opened its gates for the very first time, ten-year-old James M. “JM” Martin wasn’t in the stands.

He was working.

Like many young boys of the era, JM spent game day selling drinks to Georgia fans throughout the stadium. After the game ended and the crowds disappeared, he noticed four unused tickets lying among the discarded trash. Rather than letting them be thrown away, he picked them up and took them home.

He kept them for decades.

In the 1960s, JM gave one of the tickets to the son of a player from Georgia’s 1929 team so it could become part of that family’s scrapbook. The remaining three stayed with him until they were eventually passed down to his youngest son, Mickey Martin.

When Mickey decided to share part of his family’s history, one ticket remained with the Martin family. The other two found a new home in The Legacy Collection at 107.

Today, these unused tickets are more than relics from the opening game at Sanford Stadium—they are tangible reminders that history often survives because someone recognized its value before anyone else did.

“JM loved the Dawgs.”

— Mickey Martin