Babe Ruth hit another home run!
A 91-year-old jersey owned by a Yankees legend has sold at auction for a record-breaking $24.12 million, becoming what Heritage Auctions is currently calling the most valuable sports collectible in the world.
On Saturday, August 24, Heritage began selling Ruth’s historic “Called Shot” jersey, the one Ruth famously wore during Game 3 of the 1932 World Series at Wrigley Field in Chicago, when he famously made a gesture with his bat before hitting a home run to center field.
Babe Ruth’s 1932 World Series jersey sold at auction for $24.12 million.
Heritage Auctions
The sale price of $24.12 million surpassed the previous record, a 1952 Mickey Mantle mint Topps card that Heritage sold at auction in August 2022 for $12.6 million.
The auction came after a six-hour bidding war at its Summer Platinum Night Sports Auctions, with Ruth’s jersey the highlight of the sale, according to a statement from the auctioneers.
The item has been photo-matched by multiple third-party authentication agencies, including Professional Sports Authenticator and MeiGray Authenticated, who used game photographs to determine that the now-collectible jersey is the one worn by Ruth on October 1, 1932.
Heritage athletic director Chris Ivey called Ruth’s jersey “the most significant piece of American sports memorabilia ever offered at auction.”
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“It is an honor and a privilege to be part of this great piece of American history, and I am proud that it will join one of the greatest private collections in the world,” Ivey said in a statement.
“The large turnout and record-breaking price at auction make it clear that astute collectors are in no doubt about what this Ruth jersey is and what it represents,” he added. “The legend of Babe Ruth and the myth and mystery surrounding his ‘Called Shot’ are integrated into this special artifact.”
As for how the jersey came into Heritage’s possession, the auctioneer noted that Ruth gave it to a Florida golfing buddy in the 1940s, whose daughter sold it to Sports Auction Pioneer for six figures, who in turn sold it to an anonymous collector who then auctioned it off in 2005, where it finally sold for $940,000.
Ruth’s jersey is the most expensive game-worn jersey ever sold at auction. The previous highest price was Michael Jordan’s Game 1 jersey from the 1998 NBA Finals, which sold for $10.1 million in 2022, according to ESPN.
“This is essentially the Mona Lisa. It’s a very mystical moment not just in baseball history but in American history and pop culture history,” Ivey told the outlet.
“100 years later, we’re still talking about it. That’s one of the reasons it’s the most important piece of sports memorabilia in the world. When this record is broken, it floats all boats. I think it gets more people interested in the hobby.”
