Baseball Legend Babe Ruth’s Jersey Breaks Record at Sports Memorabilia Auction | Baseball News

Ruth wore the “Called Shot” jersey during a historic game against the Chicago Cubs in his final World Series in 1932.

American baseball legend Babe Ruth’s jersey has broken the record for the most expensive piece of sports memorabilia ever sold at auction, fetching $24.1 million after a weeks-long auction.

The online auction for his New York Yankees jersey began in July and ended after a more than six-hour bidding war on Sunday, according to Heritage Auctions in Irving, Texas. The buyer wishes to remain anonymous, Heritage said.

Within the first few days of its auction, the precious piece broke the record by attracting a bid of $13.3 million, with experts estimating the bidding price to exceed $30 million.

The previous record for the most expensive sports item sold at auction was $12.6 million, paid in August 2022 for a Mickey Mantle baseball card.

Until 2022, no piece of sports memorabilia had ever crossed the $10 million mark, but that year, a Mantle card and a jersey worn by basketball legend Michael Jordan surpassed that mark.

After a nationwide tour, including a return to Wrigley Field, and more than six hours of extended bidding tonight, Babe Ruth’s “Called Shot” jersey closed at $24.12 million to become the most valuable piece of sports memorabilia in the world. pic.twitter.com/EuHKB3KicP

— Heritage Auctions Sports (@Heritage_Sport) August 25, 2024

“This is the most important piece of American sports memorabilia ever offered at auction,” said Chris Ivey, Heritage’s sports director. He said in a press release that it was clear from the bidding that “savvy collectors have no doubts about what Ruth’s jersey is and what it represents.”

“The legend of Babe Ruth and the myth and mystery surrounding his alleged ‘shot’ come together in this extraordinary artifact,” Ivey said.

The Bambino – one of Ruth’s nicknames – wore the record-breaking jersey during a historic game against the Chicago Cubs in the 1932 World Series.

The famous “called hit” story tells that Ruth pointed in the direction he wanted the ball to go and proceeded to hit a home run in the specified direction.

Ruth was booed by the opposition, and is said to have responded by pointing deep into the center field stands, before hitting the next ball exactly in that direction for a home run.

“It’s the most dramatic moment in World Series history, and probably the most dramatic moment ever in baseball,” said Michael Gibbons, director emeritus and historian at the Babe Ruth Birthplace & Museum in Baltimore.

The Yankees won the game and the World Series in four straight games. This was the last championship win of Ruth’s career.

It was Ruth’s last World Series game, and the “catch-all” hit was his last home run in a World Series, said Mike Provenzale, Heritage’s sports product manager.

“When you can connect an item like this to an important person and the most important moment in their life, that’s what collectors really look for,” Provenza said.

Heritage said Roth gave the road jersey to a Florida golf buddy around 1940 and it remained in that family for decades. Then in the early 1990s, the man’s daughter sold it to a private collector. It sold at auction in 2005 for $940,000 and remained in a private collection until it was given to Heritage this year.