An iconic jersey worn by baseball legend Babe Ruth was sold for over $24 million at an auction on Sunday.
Ruth wore the jersey when he called his shot during the 1932 World Series and hit a home run to center field, the Associated Press (AP) reported.
“Heritage Auctions said the New York Yankee slugger’s jersey went for a record-breaking $24.12 million after a bidding war that lasted over six hours when it went on the block in Dallas. The buyer wishes to remain anonymous, Heritage said,” the article stated.
An image shows the jersey inside a glass case:
Babe Ruth ‘called shot’ Yankees jersey sells for $24.12 million in record-shattering auction https://t.co/fB9vJg2s9S pic.twitter.com/E3JNPxMF1e
— New York Post (@nypost) August 25, 2024
In reference to the “called shot,” the auction house said, “It has been called the greatest moment in baseball history, a characterization unharmed by the fact that nobody knows for certain if it actually happened the way the popular story goes.”
A video from the New York Yankees described the theories surrounding the incredible moment in baseball history:
According to the AP, the price bested the $12.6 million sale of Yankee Mickey Mantle’s 1952 rookie card that sold in 2022. The article also noted that Ruth gave the jersey to a friend in Florida around 1940 and the family held on to it for decades afterwards.
“Then, in the early 1990s, that man’s daughter sold it to a collector. It was then sold at auction in 2005 for $940,000 and remained in a private collection until being consigned to Heritage this year,” the outlet said.
Babe Ruth’s ‘called shot’ jersey becomes the most valuable piece of sports memorabilia ever sold: https://t.co/6lrHuGG0wd pic.twitter.com/1zZ0CWmcHT
— FoxNashville (@FOXNashville) August 25, 2024
Babe Ruth, who was born George Herman Ruth Jr. on February 6, 1895, in Baltimore, Maryland, developed a passion for baseball at a young age and eventually joined the New York Yankees, according to the legend’s official website.
“Babe dominated baseball, achieving never-seen-before stats. He changed baseball from a grind-it-out style to one of power and high-scoring games,” the site read.
“He re-wrote the record books from a hitting standpoint, combining a high batting average with unbelievable power. The result was an assault on baseball’s hallowed records,” it noted.