The jersey worn by legendary baseball player Babe Ruth when he “kicked off” – and hit a home run – in Game 3 of the 1932 World Series has sold for a record $24.1 million (£18.1 million) at Heritage Auctions.
The sale makes the jersey the most expensive sports memorabilia ever sold at auction. The jersey in question, owned by the New York Yankees star, was last auctioned in 2005 for $940,000. But at the time, the item was only tied to the 1932 World Series, not directly to the famous episode where Ruth pointed his bat toward the outfield stands before hitting a home run to center field off Chicago Cubs pitcher Charlie Root.
The gesture was interpreted as Ruth indicating where he would soon hit the ball.
Several companies have since adapted the jersey to the one Ruth wore in Game 3 of the Series at Wrigley Field, increasing its value exponentially. It was Ruth’s last home run in a World Series.
Ruth retired from baseball in 1935 and died at age 53 in 1948.
He is widely considered the greatest baseball player of all time. Ruth won three World Series with the Boston Red Sox before being traded to the New York Yankees at the end of the 1919 season and went on to win four more World Series titles.
The previous record for sports memorabilia was held by the auction of a mint condition 1952 Topps baseball card featuring Mickey Mantle, which sold for $12.6 million in 2022. The previous most expensive jersey to sell at auction was a Michael Jordan jersey from the 1998 NBA Finals, which sold for £7.64 million ($10.1 million) in 2022.
When it was announced in May that Ruth’s jersey would be auctioned, Heritage’s director of sports auctions, Chris Ivy, predicted the item could sell for as much as $30 million.
“It’s kind of the Mona Lisa. It’s a very iconic moment that goes through not only baseball history, but American history and pop culture history,” Ivy told ESPN in an interview. “It’s still talked about 100 years later, which is one of the reasons I think it’s the most important sports memorabilia in the world. When it hits that new record, the high tide lifts all boats. I think more and more people are going to get interested in the hobby.”
The identity of the buyer of Ruth’s record-breaking jersey has not been made public.
