The jersey that Babe Ruth wore when he hit his famous “called shot” home run in the 1932 World Series sold for a record $24.12 million in Dallas on Saturday night, setting an auction record for the most expensive sports collectible ever sold.
The Yankees’ No. 3 away jersey in size 16 was available to the public for the first time in 19 years. The sale price included the usual 20% buyer’s premium.
The legendary blast, in which Ruth made a pointing gesture while batting and then hit the home run into center field, occurred in the fifth inning of Game 3 and is one of the most celebrated moments in baseball history.
The previous record for the most expensive sports collectible was a rare, mint-condition Mickey Mantle card from Topps that sold for $12.6 million in August 2022. A month later, Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls “Last Dance” jersey from Game 3 of the 1998 NBA Finals sold for $10.1 million.
The identity of the buyer is not being disclosed to the public. According to Heritage Auctions, the person won a bidding war that began late Saturday night and lasted into early Sunday morning.
The $24 million it fetched at the Heritage Summer Platinum Sports auction is a far cry from the $940,000 the same jersey sold for in 2005. At the time, however, the jersey was only loosely associated with the 1932 World Series until more recent photo-matching techniques confirmed that it was indeed the stuff Ruth wore when he “took a shot” against Chicago Cubs pitcher Charlie Root. The Yankees won that game 7-5 and swept the Cubs in the Series (4-0).
Chris Ivy, head of sports auctions at Heritage Auctions, previously referred to the jersey as the “Mona Lisa” of sports memorabilia because of its association with such a historic game and the mythical feat of Ruth, who hit two home runs in the game. Ivy estimated the piece could fetch $30 million. Barry Meisel, president and COO of authenticator MeiGray Authenticated, said the jersey may be the most important sports relic in not just American but world history.
It was Ruth’s last postseason home run in his final World Series appearance. He retired in 1935 and died in 1948.
