Parks said he often thought of growing up in the 1970s, the days when the Big Red Machine won back-to-back World Series titles. He realized, however, he didn’t have anything with which to relive those memories. No autographs of players such as Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan or Pete Rose. No ticket stubs from games he attended at old Riverfront Stadium.
So he came up with the idea of a book — the “Cincinnati Reds Season Pass-Port” — that would allow families to record their memories now and keep them for a lifetime.
“When my daughters were younger, we used to incorporate family vacations with going to major or minor league ballparks,” Parks said. “We would always buy a baseball or a hat with that team’s logo, something to show we were there.
“I had a hard time keeping ticket stubs because they would be in my pocket and get all wrinkled,” he continued. “That’s where the book came from. In all that driving time to Alaska and using my passport, it just came to me how neat it would be to have a passport when you visit ballparks.”
When he returned from his 31/2-week trip in late July, he hired a graphic artist and together they put something down on paper by late November. Parks then met with business partner Phil Castellini, who also is the chief operating officer of the Cincinnati Reds.
“I had the prototype printed up and had all the validation stamps together when I met with Phil,” Parks said. “He really liked the idea and took it to the winter baseball meetings in Orlando, Fla., to present to Major League Baseball.”
When Castellini returned, Parks said there was a conference call with MLB officials to get the licensing process started. The other important piece of the puzzle was to get the approval of the MLB Players Association. Once that happened, the focus was on getting the final product ready for Opening Day at Great American Ball Park.
“It literally took from July to March 30, the day before Opening Day, to get the final product,” Parks said. “It was an eight- or nine-month project, and it has been a real learning experience. I think it is better than I envisioned it.”
Lauren Werner, senior director of business development with the Reds, called the Pass-Port a “unique” idea.
“When Tim ... showed us the product, we thought he had done an amazing job,” Werner said. “It was so unique. It’s almost like a scrapbook the way you can record the memories of your experience at the game.
“It has been received really well,” she continued. “Fans are asking all kinds of questions about it. They want to know where they go to get the stamps, and we are doing our best to get the word out.”
The Pass-Port, which is about the size of a regular passport, has a place for each Reds home game that fans can take to several locations within the ballpark to get a stamp for that day’s game to show you were there. There also is a section where you can record your experiences at that game and a place to get player autographs. There also is a Kids Pass-Port so they can record their own memories.
“It’s really designed from a fans perspective,” Parks said. “I just can’t imagine what it would have been like now to have something like this to open about the 1975 Reds and be able to read about all the games I went to then, and to see autographs of those players.”
Right now, the Reds are the only team selling the Pass-Port, but there are plans to create them for each of the major league teams, as well as a Major League Baseball book that will include all 30 teams, and sections for the Baseball Hall of Fame, the playoffs and the Civil Rights game.
“This is nothing like I’ve ever done before,” Parks said. “It’s been a real learning experience and it’s been a lot of fun. I think the book turned out amazing.”
For more information, visit redspassport.com.
Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2852
or sweaver@coxohio.com.
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