The jersey worn by legendary New York Yankees slugger Babe Ruth when he called his shot during the 1932 World Series before slamming a home run to center field fetched more than $24 million at auction.
Heritage Auctions offered up the jersey Saturday night in Dallas and it sold for $24,120,000.
“In the realm of sports collectibles, this is the greatest sports collectible of all time,” Chris Ivy from Heritage Auctions told CBS Mornings ahead of the auction.
The only time the jersey was sold publicly was over 20 years ago — and it went for $975,000.
“People said that the buyer was nuts for paying a million dollars for, you know, an old baseball jersey. But at the end of this auction, he’s gonna be looking like a very smart man,” said Ivy.
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Ruth, known as “The Great Bambino,” is widely regarded as baseball’s most storied player. He won seven World Series titles and hit 714 home runs during his illustrious career.
He wore the jersey, which has been photo-matched to images from the time, in Game 3 of the 1932 World Series against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on Oct. 1, 1932. In the fifth inning, Ruth stepped up to the plate, gestured toward the outfield, and hit the next pitch over the wall of Cubs pitcher Charlie Root. The moment has been known as “The Called Shot” ever since.
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“It is the most dramatic moment in World Series history, and it may be the most dramatic moment ever in all of 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 swept the Cubs the next day to win the series. It was Ruth’s last World Series.
In July, the jersey was brought back to Wrigley Field, where fans and players had the chance to see it up close. The jersey still bears unique stitching and stains, which Ruth’s granddaughter, Linda Ruth Tosetti, believes might be from mustard — a favorite of her grandfather.
“I’m sure he had his hot dogs, and he needed to have them throughout the game,” Tosetti told CBS Mornings.
contributed to this report.
