A baseball shirt worn by Babe Ruth, one of the greatest players in baseball's history, has been sold at auction in the US for a record-breaking $24.1 million (£18.2 million).
The New York Yankees jersey was worn by Ruth when he hit a home run to help his team win the 1932 World Series, one of the most famous moments in baseball history.
Ruth was famous for making gestures to the outfield before the ball was thrown, which led to a theory that he was “instructing the batting order” before hitting a home run.
Sports fans bidding battled for more than six hours, but in the end one collector won the auction, breaking the previous record for a piece of sports memorabilia, set two years ago for a trading card of Ruth's Yankees legend Mickey Mantle, for $12.6 million (£9.53 million).
Babe Ruth's Record-Breaking Baseball Uniform (HA.com)
Ruth kept the jersey after his retirement, then gave it to a friend, whose daughter sold it in the 1990s for a six-figure sum, and it sold again at auction in 2005 for $940,000 (£711,000).
Chris Ivey, director of sports for Heritage Auctions, which sold the shirt, said it was “the most significant piece of American sports memorabilia ever to come up for auction.”
He said: “It is an honor and a privilege to be involved with this great piece of American history, and I am proud that it will join one of the greatest private collections in the world.”
“The large turnout at the auction and the record-breaking bid make it clear that astute collectors have no doubt about what this Ruth jersey is and what it represents. The legend of Babe Ruth and the myth and mystery surrounding his 'Called Shot' are fused into this special artifact.”
Ruth, who died in 1948, is a legendary figure in American sports, having been selected as one of the “first five” inductees into the Sports Hall of Fame in 1936.
