Babe Ruth won the World Series seven times. [Getty Images]
The jersey worn by baseball legend Babe Ruth when he “managed” the 1932 World Series has become the most expensive piece of sports memorabilia ever sold at auction.
The Ruth jersey sold for 18.1 million pounds ($24.12 million), significantly surpassing the 9.53 million pounds ($12.6 million) paid in 2022 for a 1952 Topps baseball card featuring New York Yankees outfielder Mickey Mantle.
The previous most expensive jersey sold at auction was a Chicago Bulls shirt worn by basketball legend Michael Jordan in the 1998 NBA Finals, which sold for 7.64 million pounds ($10.1 million) in 2022.
Chris Ivey, director of sports auctions at Heritage Auctions, called it “the most significant piece of American sports memorabilia ever to come up for auction.”
“If this were a work of art, it would be like buying the Mona Lisa,” Ivey added.
Ruth, who was infamously traded from the Boston Red Sox to the New York Yankees in 1920, wore the jersey during Game 3 of the 1932 World Series when the Yankees played against the Chicago Cubs.
He was famous for “giving directions” while at bat, pointing toward center field before hitting a home run off Cubs pitcher Charlie Root.
The Yankees won the game, 7-5, and took the series lead, 4-0, and it was Ruth’s final home run in a World Series game.
Ruth is widely considered the greatest baseball player of all time and won seven World Series.
He retired in 1935 and died in 1948 at the age of 53.
Ruth’s move from the Red Sox to the Yankees gave birth to the legend of the “Curse of the Bambino,” as Boston went without a World Series win for over 80 years after he was traded. [Getty Images]