George Herman “Babe” Ruth is now officially the king of sports memorabilia and collectibles.
The New York Yankees jersey Ruth was wearing when he hit his famous and controversial “called shot” home run in the 1932 World Series against the Chicago Cubs sold for a record $24.1 million in the Summer Platinum Night Sports Auction Aug. 24 at Heritage Auctions. The sale shattered the previous record of $12.6 million, which was held by a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card graded SGC 9.5. The card was sold in 2022, also by Heritage Auctions.
Courtesy Heritage Auctions
Chris Ivy, director of sports auctions at Heritage, called the Ruth jersey “the most significant piece of American sports memorabilia to be offered at auction in decades.” Heritage estimated the jersey could sell for as much as $30 million.
The jersey, bearing Ruth’s famous No. 3, was photo-matched to Game 3 of the 1932 World Series by MeiGray Authenticated, which matched it to two photos from Getty Images and a third from The Chicago Daily News showing Ruth, Lou Gehrig and manager Joe McCarthy in the dugout.
According to Heritage, Ruth gave the jersey to a Florida man following a round of golf. The man kept it until his daughter auctioned it nearly two decades ago. It had not been photo-matched until recently.
Courtesy Heritage Auctions
Ruth’s “called shot” against Chicago Cubs pitcher Charlie Root has been argued and debated for decades—to the point that it has almost been accepted as fact that he indeed pointed toward centerfield before blasting Root’s fifth-inning fastball into the bleachers at Wrigley Field.
Whether fact, fiction or folklore, Ruth’s dramatic and controversial home run is considered one of the greatest moments in baseball history.
Courtesy Heritage Auctions
Over his 22-year career, 15 of which he starred for the Yankees, Ruth led the league in home runs 12 times. His 11 seasons of 40-or-more home runs are the most all-time. He finished his career the all-time home run leader with 714 before Hank Aaron broke his record on April 8, 1974. Ruth’s game was not just power though, as he finished a career .342 hitter and hit .320-or-better in 13 seasons.
Ruth was elected to the Hall of Fame with the inaugural Class of 1936.
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