Babe Ruth just hit another one out of the park!
A 91-year-old jersey belonging to the Yankees legend just sold at auction for a record $24.12 million, becoming what Heritage Auctions is now calling the most valuable sports collectible in the world.
On Saturday, Aug. 24, Heritage sold Ruth’s historic “call shot” jersey — the one he wore during Game 3 of the 1932 World Series when he famously swung his bat to center field at Chicago’s Wrigley Field.
Babe Ruth’s 1932 World Series jersey sold at auction for $24.12 million.
Heritage auctions
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The sale price of $24.12 million surpasses the previous record holder, a mint 1952 Mickey Mantle Topps card auctioned by Heritage in August 2022 for $12.6 million.
The sale followed a six-hour bidding war during the Summer Platinum Night Sports Auction, the centerpiece of which was Ruth’s jersey, according to the auctioneer’s announcement.
The item has been photo-matched by multiple third-party authenticators, including Professional Sports Authenticator and MeiGray Authenticated, meaning the pros used game photos to determine that the now collectible is Ruth’s jersey worn on October 1, 1932.
Heritage Director of Sports Chris Ivy called the Ruth jersey “the most significant piece of American sports memorabilia ever offered at auction.”
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“It has been an honor and a privilege to work with this incredible piece of American history and I am proud that it will now be part of one of the finest private collections in the world,” Ivy said in the release.
“It is clear from the high turnout at the auctions and the record price achieved that astute collectors have no doubt about what this Ruth jersey is and what it represents,” he added. shot’ are united in this one remarkable artifact.”
As for how the jersey ended up in Heritage’s hands, the auctioneer noted that Ruth had given the jersey to a golfer friend in Florida in the 1940s, before the friend’s daughter sold it for six figures to a sports auction pioneer, who later sold it anonymous collector. That person then put the jersey up for auction in 2005, when it last sold for $940,000.
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Ruth’s jersey represents the most anyone has ever paid for a game-used jersey at auction. The previous record holder on that front, according to ESPN, was Michael Jordan’s jersey from the first game of the 1998 NBA Finals, which was sold in 2022 for $10.1 million.
“This is essentially the Mona Lisa. It’s a very mythic moment that goes down not only in baseball history, but in American history, pop culture history,” Ivy told the news outlet.
“We’re still talking about it 100 years later, which is one of the reasons I think it’s the most important piece of sports memorabilia in the world. When it hits that new record, a high tide lifts all boats. I think more people will be interested in this hobby. ”
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education