Babe Ruth’s New York Yankees jersey from his supposed “called shot” home run in the 1932 World Series has sold for $24 million, cementing its place as the most valuable piece of sports memorabilia.
Sunday’s record sale by Heritage Auctions further hypes the lore around that day 92 years ago at Wrigley Field in Chicago, where — as the legend goes — Ruth pointed to center field before his next pitch, calling the placement of his next home run. There’s no question that the Bambino hit a homer off Chicago Cubs pitcher Charlie Root on his next swing, but repeated analysis and reviews of that moment have called into question the historical accuracy of the “called shot,” with many concluding it likely didn’t happen that way.
Still, the story looms large, and after a six-hour bidding war, Ruth’s jersey sold for $24.21 million — almost double the previous record for the most expensive sports collectible, according to Heritage Auctions, which auctioned off the piece. That standing had been held since August 2022, when a 1952 Mickey Mantle baseball card sold for $12.6 million.
Heritage auctioneers said the Ruth jersey was “photo-matched” by several third parties, using multiple photos from that day on Oct. 1, 1932, including one from the Chicago Daily News, which showed Ruth with Lou Gehrig in the Wrigley Field dugout.
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The new owner of the jersey, who was not identified, purchased “the most significant piece of American sports memorabilia ever offered at auction,” Chris Ivy, the director of sports for Heritage, said in a statement.
Years after he retired from baseball in 1935, Ruth gifted his jersey to a golf friend in Florida, where it remained in that family’s possession until the 1990s, when a sports auctioneer bought the jersey, Heritage officials said. It was later auctioned off in 2005 for $940,000 and had remained in a private collection until this past weekend.
As the legend goes, Ruth was indignant in the face of angry Cubs fans and players, gesturing toward center field during his fifth-inning at-bat, already down two strikes — then hit a home run where he had indicated.
But a 1995 Times article detailed a recent review of the evidence from that day, and found little indication that it occurred as the tale has perpetuated, calling it “the baseball legend that won’t die.”
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The analysis, which included grainy film from the third game of the 1932 World Series, testimony from other nearby players and even private comments from Ruth, found that he did make some sort of gesture before hitting one of his two home runs that day, but it wasn’t the location for his next homer.
Some say he was possibly egging on the pitcher or responding to the home team’s rowdy dugout — but some are insistent he was gesturing toward center.
And so, the allure remains.
“It is clear by the strong auction participation and record price achieved that astute collectors have no doubt as to what this Ruth jersey is and what it represents,” Ivy said. “The legend of Babe Ruth and the myth and mystery surrounding his ‘called shot’ are united in this one extraordinary artifact.”
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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