The Jersey of legendary New York Yankees batter Babe Ruth When he announced his at-bat before hitting a home run into center field during the 1932 World Series, it fetched more than $24 million at auction.
Heritage Auctions auctioned the jersey on Saturday evening in Dallas and It was sold for $24,120,000.
“In the realm of sports collectibles, this is the greatest sports collectible of all time,” Chris Ivy of Heritage Auctions told CBS Mornings before the auction.
The only time the jersey was sold publicly was over 20 years ago – and it fetched $975,000.
“People said the buyer was crazy to pay a million dollars for, you know, an old baseball jersey. But at the end of this auction, he’s going to look like a very smart man,” Ivy said.
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Known as “The Great Bambino,” Ruth is widely considered baseball’s most famous player, winning seven World Series titles and hitting 714 home runs during his illustrious career.
He wore the jersey that has been compared to images from that era in Game 3 of the 1932 World Series against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on October 1, 1932. In the fifth inning, Ruth stepped to the plate, pointed toward the outfield and hit the next pitch over the wall of Cubs pitcher Charlie Root. That moment has since become known as “The Called Shot.”
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“It’s the most dramatic moment in World Series history and perhaps the most dramatic moment in baseball,” said Michael Gibbons, director emeritus and historian at the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum in Baltimore.
The Yankees won the game 7-5 and defeated the Cubs the next day to win the series. It was Ruth’s last World Series.
The jersey was returned in July Wrigley Fieldwhere fans and players had the chance to see it up close. The jersey still features unique stitching and stains that Ruth’s granddaughter, Linda Ruth Tosetti, believes may have come from mustard, one of her grandfather’s favorite colors.
“I’m sure he had his hot dogs and he needed them throughout the game,” Tosetti told CBS Mornings.
Omar Villafranca contributed to this report.
