Nearly a century after Babe Ruth hit the game-winning home run during the 1932 World Series, the jersey the New York Yankees player wore when he hit the home run to center field is breaking auction records.
The jersey went up for sale at Heritage Auctions in Dallas and sold for a staggering $24.1 million (€21.5 million), making it the most expensive sports item ever sold at auction.
Ruth’s famous, controversial and often imitated hit came when the Yankees faced the Chicago Cubs in Game 3 of the World Series at Wrigley Field in Chicago on October 1, 1932.
In the fifth inning, Ruth flagged while batting and then hit a ball to Cubs pitcher Charlie Root. The Yankees won the game 7–5, and swept the Cubs the next day to win the Series.
It was Ruth’s last World Series game, and the “catch-all” hit was his last home run in a World Series, said Mike Provenzale, Heritage’s sports product manager.
The previous record for sports memorabilia was set in 2022 when a rare, mint condition 1952 Topps baseball card of Mickey Mantle sold for €11.6 million.
The highest price ever paid for a shirt at auction was also in 2022, when Michael Jordan shirt From the 1998 NBA Finals sold for around €9 million.