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In the most prestigious sports memorabilia auction in history, the jersey worn by baseball legend Babe Ruth during the iconic "called shot" in Game 3 of the 1932 World Series was sold for a record-breaking $24.12 million, equivalent to €21.5 million. Heritage Auctions confirmed that this is the highest price ever paid for a piece of sports memorabilia.
The historic jersey, once owned by the New York Yankees star, was offered to the public for the first time in 19 years, surpassing the previous record of $12.6 million held by a rare 1952 Topps baseball card featuring Mickey Mantle, sold in 2022. With this sale, Ruth’s jersey has also far exceeded the $10.1 million paid for a Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls jersey worn during Game 1 of the 1998 NBA Finals. By comparison, the famous jersey worn by Diego Maradona during the Argentina-England match at the 1986 World Cup was sold for approximately €8.8 million in May 2022.
Babe Ruth’s jersey was previously sold in 2005 for just $940,000, as it had not yet been authenticated as the one worn during Ruth's legendary “called shot” home run, where he pointed with his bat to the direction he intended to hit the ball, successfully making the shot off a pitch from Chicago Cubs’ Charlie Root. Despite some lingering doubts nearly a century later, various photos have confirmed the jersey’s authenticity.
