In 1955, Washington State hosted San Jose State and the paid attendance was one. That’s right, one fan!

At least that is the claim in this photo from a J&B Scotch ad from a 1973 Time magazine. I found it posted on the Facebook page for the Washington State Manuscripts, Archives and Special Collections section of the library.

Washington State claims one paying fan at 1955 game versus San Jose State

However, when I reference the Washington State media guide, the school claims an attendance of 1,600.

Sadly, we will probably never know which is the correct number, although I have reached out to the Washington State athletic department.

UPDATE:

I have been informed by @jjncaa that the actual paid attendance really was one, and that it is in a trivia book written by Ken Jennings. Yes, the Ken Jennings that had the insane Jeopardy run of 74 straight wins.

The book is called Ken Jennings’s Trivia Almanac: 8,888 Questions in 365 Days and can be purchased here.

[via WSUMASC Facebook page]