Babe Ruth’s ‘Called Shot’ Yankees jersey fetches record $24 million

In perhaps the most anticipated sports memorabilia auction ever, a jersey worn by baseball legend Babe Ruth in Game 3 of the 1932 World Series sold for $24.12 million at Heritage Auctions, setting an auction record for the most expensive sports collectible.

Sale of New York Yankees The Rod Ruth jersey, which includes the standard 20% buyer’s premium, was available to the public for the first time in 19 years.

The previous record price for any sports collectible sold at auction was for a rare, very good condition Topps 1952 Mickey Mantle card, which sold in the 1990s. sold for $12.6 million In 2022. The Ruth jersey also surpassed Michael Jordan’s worth of $10.1 million Chicago Bulls Game 1 jersey of the 1998 NBA Finals Acquired at auction in the same year,

The last time a Ruth jersey sold at auction was in 2005, when it fetched $940,000, but it had ties only to the 1932 World Series — not conclusively to Game 3 or the “called shot,” when Ruth pointed during an at-bat and then hit a home run to center field off of him. Cubs Pitcher Charlie Root. But in recent years several companies have matched this jersey’s photo to Game 3 of the World Series at Wrigley Field, causing its value to rise sharply.

When Heritage announced the jersey’s auction in May, Heritage Auctions’ sports auction director Chris Ivy said it could fetch more than $30 million and was virtually guaranteed to set a sports collectibles record.

“It’s basically the Mona Lisa. It’s a very legendary moment that’s etched not only in baseball history, but in American history, pop culture history,” Ivy told ESPN. “We’re still talking about it 100 years later, which is why I think it’s the most important piece of sports memorabilia in the world. When it sets a new record, it raises all boats. I think a lot more people will be interested in this hobby.”

Although the identity of the buyer has not been made public, Ivy told ESPN that “there were a dozen people on our mailing list who were willing to pay between $15 and $20 million for a Ruth jersey.”

“It’s a great conversation starter because, you know, buying more IBM shares, investing in real estate — a lot of people think they’ve maxed out those things,” Ivey said. “(The clients) range from lawyers to team owners. Team owners are interesting: They like the history of the game, they like that. They’ve invested a lot in their sports and spent a lot of time on it.”

“The Babe ‘Called the Shot’ jersey may be one of, if not the, most important sports relics in American history and world history,” said Barry Meisel, president and chief operating officer of Meigre Authenticated, one of the companies that photo-matched the jersey.

The Yankees won the game 7–5 and defeated the Cubs the next day to win the series.

Mike Provenzale, production manager for Heritage’s sports department, told the Associated Press that this was Ruth’s last World Series, and that the “called shot” was his last home run in a World Series.

Photo-matching 1952 and 1953 Mickey Mantle World Series jerseys sold for $3 million; despite not matching the photo, a game-worn 1951 Jackie Robinson Brooklyn Dodgers jersey with 1950 pants sold for $5.52 million, a record for any Jackie Robinson item; a photo-matching 1954 Hank Aaron jersey, worn during his rookie season and possibly his first at-bat, sold for $2.1 million, a record for any Aaron item.

“Shoeless” Joe Jackson’s 1911 rookie year bat sold for $2.01 million including buyer’s premium, setting a record for a baseball bat.

This report used information from The Associated Press.