Collecting Professional Wrestling Posters and Programs

Like posters, programs are a snapshot of one particular night's card. Those from the turn of the last century with names like Jim Londos, Tom Jenkins and Frank Gotch can be very expensive. Most vintage collectors would love to have any of the big names in their collection, so these programs will always find a buyer. At auction, the final price for something like this depends on how many hardcore collectors see it.

Programs from the 1950's and 1960's vary a great deal in price, largely depending on the promotion. St Louis and WWWF are two promotions that have a huge following among collectors so those can bring more than others. Programs attract completists who want an original program of every event from their city or favorite promotion. There are exceptions, but the majority of programs from this period sell for $10 or less. Many fans left there programs in the arenas, and some did save them, at least for awhile. Time eventually got the better of most that were taken home, so those that remain from any era are very rare.

Not all promotions printed programs, and of those who did, not all were consistent with their production. For example, the Nick Gulas / Roy Welch promotion in the South didn't bother to print them in all cities at all times. In Birmingham, for example, there are programs from the early sixties, and none from the middle sixties. About 1970, they began showing up again. In some cases, the programs were a shared enterprise between local entrepreneurs and the promotion. The entrepreneur sold advertising and incurred the cost of printing and distribution. The promoter would either share in the profits, or be content with distributing a program free of cost.Occasionally, hardbound copies of programs show up in the marketplace. These are beyond rare, and if a collector comes across one of interest, it is best to grab it in a hurry. Most likely another one, will not be found.

Collectors love these. Event posters are a snapshot of one particular night's card. They are among the most graphically pleasing vintage wrestling collectibles, so they look good framed.The older ones are generally more valuable, but that is not always the case. I have seen 1960's and 1970's WWWF event posters, the precursor to today's WWE, sell for outrageous money - up into the mid-hundreds.The oldest event posters that I have owned date back to the 1930's. Because of their size, posters this old are usually not in great shape, and mine were no exception. I sold them on eBay for $20 - $30 each.

Even more rare are "Coming Attractions" posters. Advertising the next event, these were taped or stapled to the walls and doors of arenas. The print numbers were very small, simply because few were necessary.

Posters from the turn of the last century can be very valuable. These posters are a piece of American history, not just wrestling history, when professional wrestling was considered legitimate sport. Top stars were some of the most admired athletes in America. The 1918 George Hackenschmidt - Frank Gotch rematch for the world title drew 33,000 fans to Comiskey Park, a feat that other sports back in that day could not match. A poster from that event would sell in the thousands at auction. Posters were never meant to last beyond the event, and they rarely did. In the early part of the last century, towns were plastered with posters in advance of a show, but the weather and the trash collector quickly destroyed most of them. Paper drives and spring cleaning eventually consumed most of the rest. The few that are left are among the rarest collectibles, of any kind, in existence.In the middle part of the last century, posters weren't used as often, and, when they were, not as many were printed. However, promoters who worked towns without television still used posters as their primary means of advertising. For that reason, much of what is found from the 1950's - 1990's is from smaller markets without television exposure.