Presented is a collection of four items from former Miami Dolphins owner Joe Robbie’s office, including the 1985 Dolphin Stadium groundbreaking shovel with letter, and an uncut sheet of Executive Suite season tickets. Robbie, who died in 1990 at age 73, was a political figure and advisor to the Democratic Party who took an interest in pro football and became a Minnesota Vikings season ticket holder. In March 1965, the commissioner of the American Football League, Joe Foss, met with Robbie in Washington, D.C.  Like Robbie, Foss had attended the University of South Dakota and served in the Navy with Robbie. Foss recommended that Robbie look into Miami as a potential site for an expansion franchise. Robbie formed a partnership with comedian Danny Thomas, a fellow Lebanese American, and raised the $7.5 million expansion fee. The Dolphins' and Marlins' home stadium was officially called Joe Robbie Stadium from its opening in 1987 until 1996. It has undergone a series of name changes since and is currently known as Hard Rock Stadium. The first item in this collection is a display of uncut 1990 season tickets for the Executive Suite at Joe Robbie Stadium for the Dolphins games against the Denver Broncos, Minnesota Vikings, Buffalo Bills, New York Jets, New England Patriots, Indianapolis Colts, Seattle Seahawks, Philadelphia Eagles, Los Angeles Raiders and Phoenix Cardinals. The 10 tickets are in an uncut 16 x 20-inch sheet mounted in a light blue and teal cardboard matte and displayed in a 20 x 24-inch silver metal frame.  The second item in this collection is a vintage Miami Dolphins embroidered cloth patch, which features the Dolphins logo of a white and teal dolphin with a helmet inscribed with an orange “M”, orange sunbeams and black background, below the legend in silver “Miami Dolphins” and a separated bottom piece in gold “World Champions”. The two-piece embroidered cloth patch is displayed in a 1 x 4 x 5-inch plastic box with a black base and clear lid. The third item in this collection is a commemorative miniature gold shovel from the “Groundbreaking New Dolphin Stadium December 1, 1985”. The legend is engraved in black on a 3 x 4-inch gold metal plaque below a 9-inch gold metal shovel. The shovel and the plaque are mounted on 7 x 9-inch black felt and displayed in a 9 x 11-inch gold metal frame. The plaque is loose from the tape mounting on the felt background. The fourth item in this collection is a letter of provenance on a typewritten letter, dated December 23, 1985 on 8½ x 11-inch Miami Dolphins letterhead to Bob Ehrling, President of General Development Corporation, a Dolphins sky box holder. The letter of provenance was in regards to the groundbreaking shovel display that Robbie was planning on sending Ehrling the groundbreaking souvenir. The signature of Joe Robbie is a secretarial version. The letter is accompanied by a 4½ x 9½-inch envelope; there is a 2 x 2-inch piece of tape in the upper center of the envelope.

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