A really lovely example of a 1966 Beatles Candlestick Park unused ticket plus an accompanying stub from the same show, both very collectible.

The good news for collectors is that the so-called “stub” is only slightly smaller than the full original, because only a tiny portion was torn off at the gate.

So while collectors covet the Beatles San Francisco complete ticket, those fans just wishing for a token souvenir do almost as well with “just” the stub.

That’s because all Fab Four faces remained intact, even after it had been used for admittance.  What a great design by somebody at the promoter’s office or at the radio station.

Speaking of which, this is often called simply a Beatles KYA concert ticket stub because that station’s call letters are featured so prominently.

Take a look – they’re not only above the Beatles’ name, they’re in letters twice as tall!  Now that took some hubris.

But the good news is, you get it all – even if you only have the Beatles Candlestick Park ticket stub.  So what is it you’re missing with the used version?

Nothing but the radio station’s General Manager’s signature!  That’s right, the guy was a corporate suit.  Clinton D. Churchill was his name, but it might has well’ve been John Hancock, from the size of it.

So if you have the Beatles San Francisco complete concert ticket, you get that little last portion with an irrelevant signature.

But – and this is a big but – collectors still covet the unused version.  They don’t look at “with or without the radio guy’s sig” – they look at it as, “Is this thing in brand new, never-used shape?”

So having a Beatles KYA unused concert ticket still wins the race, but my point is that the stub version is such a winner in its own right.

Because in collecting, visual appeal trumps everything, and the darn stub has 90% – some would even say 100% – of the visual appeal that the full one has.

It’s ironic that there are so many Beatles Candlestick Park complete tickets around, given the historic nature of this show.  That’s because it didn’t sell out.

I mean, can you just imagine? If the Fabs had announced ahead of time that this was their last show ever, they could have sold out the concert 10 times over… or maybe 50x!  People would’ve flown in from all over the world, even in 1966.

After all, that’s what gives this Beatles San Francisco full concert ticket its cache… it was the very last time the guys ever gave a paid performance.

Starting as the Quarry Men in the fall of 1957 after Paul joined John in his group, the guys had been paid at least a pittance to perform live music.  All of that ended on this night, forever.

Have you noticed how this Beatles KYA full concert ticket features the faces of all four Fabs? And do the faces look a little… dated?

Well, that’s because they’re drawn from a famous 1963 Dezo Hoffman photograph!  I have no idea why someone authorized using such an old picture… but at the end of the day, everyone’s fine with it.

But the best thing of all about this Beatles Candlestick Park show ticket stub is that it has “Ringo, John, Paul and George” on it (in L-R order).  Their names!

You might think, “No big deal.” But that makes this ticket the only one out of all 70 North American tour dates from 1964-66 to carry the boys’ names on the ticket.  Period.

Some collectors aren’t satisfied with just one Beatles San Francisco full ticket.  They try to find one in every price range.

You’re better off seeking stubs in every price range… because I’m guessing that some of the price tiers definitely sold out, even if the whole show didn’t.

But let’s face it: Most collectors would be quite content to have just one Beatles KYA complete concert ticket.  Having different prices levels and even colors is for hard-cores only.

And who would ever watch my collectors’ video blogs and think that I might be a little hard-core when it comes to collecting?  LOL…

This Beatles Candlestick Park full ticket (and stub) is shown to you today and lectured upon by myself, Pete Howard, located in California – just a few hours south of S.F.  I can be contacted thru pete@postercentral.com or (805) 540-0020.  And as a serious collector who also trades a lot with friends, I pay the best prices in this hobby for old Beatles tickets and stubs like this, including Candlestick.

To see a few more great, collectable concert ticket stubs from other important bands, and another nice Beatles one also from ’66, just click over to this page: http://www.postercentral.com/tickets.htm