By Keith Eaton
“Pursuing your entrepreneurial instincts, taking a great idea and transforming
it into a real business, is the American Dream. It takes more work than
you imagine. Getting through the obstacles, keeping on keeping on, riding
out those days when you think, ”What an I doing?” In the end, it’s
the ultimate fulfillment … you have to hang in there.”
– Greg Durbin, Founder of the “47Straight Company”
There’s a rumor going around these days that the American Dream is dead … that the one-person startup of a new company is an extinct business species … that no one starts a new business in a struggling economy where jobs are scarce, careers are interrupted, business loans are difficult to come by, homes foreclosed and retirement nest eggs cracked.
Don’t tell that to Greg Durbin, Oklahoma high school basketball standout, Broken Arrow High School history and sociology teacher, experienced basketball coach and entrepreneurial founder of the Internet-based company “47Straight.”
“We’re all about selling classic football tickets enlarged to high resolution – full-color, 24” x 36” framed posters. It’s football nostalgia as an art form. We currently hold about 150 tickets that represent some 50 NCAA Division I football programs and their most historic games,” Durbin explains.
Greg is used to achieving success in whatever he pursues. Whether holding Oklahoma state high school records for three-point and foul shot attempt percentages, completing his B.S. in History and Education at the University of Oklahoma, or being selected head basketball coach at AAA Duncan High School at age 25, the young man has a record of hard work and determination that yields real results.
“I know that nothing worth pursuing comes easy; sometimes you have be a walk-on, demonstrate you have what it takes, and keep your focus. If that’s a cliché, it’s one by which I have lived and found to be true.”
Transforming classic football game tickets into works of art, suitable for framing, was an idea Durban began to germinate nearly two years ago. As a teacher, coach, husband and father, the transition from an idea to a business venture was a part-time project that moved in starts and spurts until blossoming early this spring.
Among the issues that required considerable time and effort to resolve was the production of a high-resolution scan of each ticket that could be enlarged and printed in full color, while retaining the nostalgic features of the actual ticket. The solution was found in a relationship with Tulsa-based Graphic Resources. The product is precisely the quality print Durbin required for the upscale customer he had identified as the target market.
“We want each poster to look like a decades-old ticket complete with fold marks, maybe a staple hole or a creased corner. Just as you would expect if you found the ticket at a garage sale or collectors’ show.”
It helped the start-up process to have Durbin’s father, a lawyer, give advice on such issues as copyright and public domain laws. The research required to guarantee conformity with the rules was nontrivial and time consuming, but necessary.
Finding the classic tickets, now numbering more than 150, is a continuing adventure on the Internet, visiting numerous garage sales, estate sales, collector venues and frequent word-of-mouth inquiries. Greg invites anyone holding a candidate ticket to contact him.
Currently, longtime football fanatics and fans can purchase posters commemorating classic games – including Greg’s first sale to a family friend – the 1936 OU vs. Texas game, in which coaches Biff Jones and Jack Chevigny sent the Sooners and Longhorns into gridiron battle, with the Longhorns emerging victorious, 10-0.
OU fans of seven decades will be delighted to find they can choose posters from several memorable contests:
The 1952 OU vs. Notre Dame slugfest featured coaching greats Bud Wilkinson and Frank Leahy, with players Billy Vessels and John Lattner. The combination of ND Quarterback Ralph Guglielmi and running back Lattner prevailed over a heroic effort by Vessels, 27-21. Vessels won the Heisman Trophy that season, and Lattner won it the following year.
In 1956, the Sooners more than turned the tables on the Irish with a 40-0 whipping despite the efforts of Paul Horning, that season’s Heisman winner. It was a national championship season featuring the legendary Oklahoma backfield of Jimmy Harris, Tommy McDonald and Clendon Thomas.
Cross-country rivals Southern California and OU gave their fans a game to remember in 1963 when coaches Wilkinson and McKay pitted warhorse backs Jim Grissom and Mike Garrett in a mano-a-mano battle, with Grissom and the Sooners triumphing 17-12.
Your 1971 Sooners brought four formidable weapons into the Cotton Bowl to face Darrell Royal’s Longhorns: Coach Chuck Fairbanks, Jack Mildren, Joe Wylie and Greg Pruitt. The Sooner Wishbone exploded and sent the Horns reeling in a 48-27 rout.
In 1974, the Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State series, actually the most lopsided state rivalry in the country, saw running backs Billie Sims and Terry Miller square off under the guidance of mentors Barry Switzer and Jim Stanley; the legendary Sims dazzled the fans on the way to a 61-28 Sooner runaway.
Then there’s the 1977 Ohio State game, when Sooners marched into the historic Horseshoe a slight underdog to the Buckeyes, led by Coach Woody Hays and quarterback Rod Gerald. The national television audience saw a battle of the ages that ended with a one-point Sooner victory, 29-28, thanks to a lengthy field goal in the waning seconds by kicker Ewe von Schuman.
Fans of other major programs including Colorado, Alabama, Auburn, Penn State and some 40 others can find their team’s classic ticket posters and order online at www.Facebook.com/47straight.
“I essentially purchase all the tickets at a negotiated price from their owners, sometimes sight unseen, and so far people have been honest and reasonable in representing their product and in their asking price,” Durbin confides.
The Company’s valuable inventory of tickets covering most of the prominent NCAA Division I teams opens up a large market opportunity, including expansion to retail sports memorabilia stores across the country and screening the ticket images onto T-shirts, hats and other clothing.
Durbin is currently in discussions with Steve McCormick, owner of the Tulsa sports memorabilia store “Bedlam Sports,” to sell the posters through his outlet.
McCormick confirms, “Greg definitely has a unique, original, creative concept for converting classic tickets into high-quality works of art. There’s a market for his product.”
In the short term, Durbin has stepped back from coaching basketball to concentrate on the business, while maintaining his teaching responsibilities.
“I love coaching, and it’s likely I’ll re-enter the field in the future. But, just now I’m following my instincts and my dream of a successful business, with opportunities for growth.”
47Straight is the result of a dream, an idea, hard work and focus; but perhaps entrepreneurial risk and reward are not for everyone. Thankfully, Distinctly Oklahomans like Greg Durbin prove it’s still possible, frequently and successfully.
And if some Oklahoma football fan just happens to hang an OU vs. Texas ticket poster featuring a certain Longhorn steer on their den wall, say in an upside-down orientation … well, occasionally truth and justice prevail.
