Babe Ruth's "called shot" jersey has been sold for a record number and is now the most expensive sports collectible in the world.
The great Bambino might have retired almost 90 years ago, but he is still setting records. Babe Ruth's game-worn jersey from the 1932 World Series against the Cubs sold this week for more than $24 million dollars. Ruth famously pointed into the stands and hit a home run where observers said he predicted.
Ruth’s jersey was recently photo-matched by several third parties, including Professional Sports Authenticator and MeiGray Authenticated. The match used two photos from Getty Images and a third from The Chicago Daily News showing Ruth, Lou Gehrig and manager Joe McCarthy in the Wrigley Field dugout on Oct. 1, 1932. Those photos were taken before and after that legendary game, where Ruth hit two home runs, including his “Called Shot".
Ruth kept the jersey until he gave it to a friend in Florida almost a decade later. It remained with that friend's daughter until the 1990s, until it sold for six figures. It was then sold again in 2005 as a “1932 Babe Ruth New York Yankees Game-Used Road Flannel Jersey Attributed To the Called Shot”, where it sold for $940,000.
It remained in a private collection before heading to Heritage Auctions and now, to the new owner. Heritage’s Director of Sports, Chris Ivy, calls it “the most significant piece of American sports memorabilia ever offered at auction.”
“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 says. “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. The legend of Babe Ruth and the myth and mystery surrounding his ‘called shot’ are united in this one extraordinary artifact.”
Maybe the called shot is more of a legend than fact for some, but there is no denying it's aura and now there has been a price tag attached to that legend.