The jersey worn by legendary New York Yankees slugger Babe Ruth when he called out shots before hitting a home run in center field during the 1932 World Series has sold at auction for more than $24 million.
Heritage Auctions will be selling the jerseys Saturday night in Dallas. It sold for $24,120,000.
“In the realm of sports collectibles, this is the greatest sports collectible of all time,” Chris Ivey of Heritage Auctions told CBS Mornings ahead of the sale.
The last time this jersey was publicly sold was more than 20 years ago, when it fetched $975,000.
“People said the buyer was crazy to pay $1 million for an old baseball uniform, but by the end of the auction he's going to look like a very smart guy,” Ivey said.
The “Cold Shot” jersey worn by Babe Ruth in the 1932 World Series with the New York Yankees is displayed in a sealed glass box at Heritage Auctions in Irving, Texas, Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024. LM Otero/AP
Known as “The Great Bambino,” Ruth is widely regarded as baseball's most legendary player. He won seven World Series and hit 714 home runs during his illustrious career.
Ruth wore this period-matched jersey in Game 3 of the World Series against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on October 1, 1932. In the top of the fifth inning, Ruth stepped up to bat, pointed to the outfield and hit the next pitch over the wall off Cubs pitcher Charlie Root, a moment that has since become known as “the called shot.”
Legendary American baseball player Babe Ruth of the New York Yankees hits a home run during Game 3 of the World Series against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field in Chicago on October 1, 1932. B. Bennett/Getty Images
“This is the most dramatic moment in World Series history, maybe the most dramatic moment in baseball history,” said Michael Gibbons, historian and director emeritus of the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum in Baltimore.
The Yankees won the game, 7-5, and went on to beat the Cubs the next day to win the series, in what would become Ruth's final World Series.
In July, the uniform was brought back to Wrigley Field, where fans and players had a chance to get a closer look. It still has some distinctive seams and stains that Ruth's granddaughter, Linda Ruth Tosetti, believes may be from mustard, her grandfather's favorite food.
“I'm sure he had a hot dog and he had to eat it throughout the game,” Tosetti told CBS Mornings.
Omar Villafranca contributed to this report.
