The baseball jersey worn by the iconic Babe Ruth when he famously “called the shot” during the third game of the 1932 World Series has been auctioned off for an unprecedented $24.1m (€21.42m) via Heritage Auctions, marking it as the highest priced sports keepsake ever sold in an auction. The New York Yankees legend’s jersey, which was last sold in 2005 for a mere $940,000, had been previously associated solely with the 1932 World Series and not explicitly with the renowned incident where Ruth gestured towards the outfield stands before successfully hitting a home run against Chicago Cubs’ Charlie Root.
This action was seen as Ruth signalising his forthcoming home run. Various companies have since equated the jersey to the one donned by Ruth during that decisive game at Wrigley Field, massively escalating its worth. This game featured Ruth’s final home run in a World Series.
Ruth, who is often considered the greatest baseball player ever lived, ended his illustrious baseball career in 1935 and passed away in 1948 at the age of 53. He secured three World Series with the Boston Red Sox, prior to his transfer to the New York Yankees at the close of the 1919 season, resulting in four additional World Series championships.
The former record for sports memorabilia was held by a 1952 remarkable mint state Topps baseball card of Mickey Mantle which fetched $12.6m in 2022. The last highest billed jersey sold at auction was a Michael Jordan jersey from the 1998 NBA Finals, which went for £7.64m ($10.1m) in 2022.
Back in May, when the auction of the Ruth jersey was publicised, Chris Ivy, the director of sports auctions at Heritage, envisaged that the piece might garner as much as $30m. “Essentially, this is the Mona Lisa. It symbolises a legendary moment that transcends just baseball history, extending to American history and pop culture history,” Ivy remarked during an ESPN interview.
A century on, we continue discussing it, contributing to why I believe it stands as the most pivotal piece of sports collectable globally. When it achieves that newfound record, all benefit from the rising tide. I reckon this pursuit will intrigue a larger audience. The person who secured the purchase has been kept anonymous.