The baseball icon Babe Ruth’s jersey from when he “called his shot” in Game 3 of the 1932 World Series was sold for $24.12 million via Heritage Auctions, setting a record for the most expensive sports item ever auctioned. This was undoubtedly the most anticipated sports memorabilia sale in history.
The public was able to purchase the New York Yankees road Ruth jersey for the first time in 19 years, along with the customary 20% buyer’s premium.
The jersey outsold a rare, mint-condition Topps 1952 Mickey Mantle card which set the previous record price for any sports item sold at auction in 2022 when it went for $12.6 million. Furthermore, the Ruth jersey far surpassed a Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls jersey from Game 1 of the 1998 NBA Finals, which brought in $10.1 million at auction as well.
The Ruth jersey last sold for $940,000 at auction in 2005, but the sale was only associated with the 1932 World Series, not with Game 3 or the “called shot,” in which Ruth gestured while at bat and then hit a home run into center field off Cubs pitcher Charlie Root.
Chris Ivy, director of sports auctions at Heritage Auctions, said the jersey would establish a record for sports collectibles and that it could bring in as much as $30 million when the auction was announced in May. Ivy said: “This is essentially the Mona Lisa. It’s a very mythical moment that crosses over not only in baseball history, but American history, pop culture history… We’re still talking about it 100 years later, which is one of the reasons why I think it’s the most significant piece of sports memorabilia in the world. When it hits that new record, high tide raises all boats. I think more people are going to be interested in this hobby.”
Though the buyer’s identity remains undisclosed, Ivy told ESPN that a dozen individuals “on our mailing list would pay between 15 and 20 million dollars” for the Ruth jersey.
Source: ESPN