What to do with old ticket stubs

First, protect them

Paper ticket stubs are fragile, and some are more fragile than they look. Many tickets printed at box offices and stadium gates were printed on thermal paper, the same kind used for store receipts. Thermal printing fades with heat, light and time, sometimes until the text is unreadable.

To slow that down:

Keep them dark and cool. Light and heat are the biggest threats. A box in a closet beats a windowsill or a hot attic.
Use archival sleeves. Acid-free, PVC-free plastic sleeves or albums (often sold for trading cards or photos) protect stubs from handling and moisture.
Avoid tape and glue. Adhesives can stain and damage the paper over time. Photo corners are safer.
Keep them away from plastic that’s not archival. Some plastics, like PVC, can react with thermal paper and speed up fading.

Scan or photograph them now

Even well-stored stubs can fade, so make a digital copy while they’re still readable. A flatbed scanner gives the best results, but a phone photo in good, even light works too. Lay the stub on a plain background and shoot from directly above.

Name each file with the date and the matchup (for example, 2019-07-04 Cubs vs Pirates) so they’re easy to search and sort later.

Display your favorites

Stubs that mean the most deserve to be seen. A few ideas:

Shadow box. Combine a stub with a scorecard, a photo from the game or a baseball. It’s especially good for milestone games: a first game, a no-hitter, a playoff clincher.
Ticket frame. Frames with cut-out windows for several tickets are a clean way to show a season, a trip or a team’s run.
Scrapbook or album. Pair each stub with photos and a few notes about the game.
Collage. Arrange a big collection under glass on a table or in a large frame.

Wherever you display them, keep stubs out of direct sunlight, or display a copy and keep the original stored safely.

Write down what you remember

A stub tells you the date and the seat. It doesn’t tell you who you went with, what the weather was like, or the moment you’ll never forget. If you remember those details, write them down: on the back of a photo, in a notebook, or in an app. In ten years, you’ll be glad you did.

What about mobile tickets?

Most tickets today live on your phone, and they often disappear from your ticketing app after the season. To keep a record:

Screenshot your ticket before or during the game.
Ask about commemorative tickets. Many teams sell printed souvenir tickets for games you attend, sometimes at the box office or through the team’s website.
Save your confirmation email for the seat details.

Make a stub for every game

momnts brings the ticket stub back for the mobile-ticket era. Log a game you attended, past or present, and momnts creates a commemorative stub with the real matchup and final score, and lets you add your seat, photos, notes and who you were with. Your old paper stubs and your new digital ones end up in one collection. If you’re chasing every ballpark, our ballpark guides and ballpark quest guide can help you plan the next one.

Last updated November 2026. momnts isn't affiliated with MLB or any team.