Babe Ruth Jersey Sells For $4.4 Million At Auction
From the archive: published May 21, 2012, 14 years ago. Details may have changed since.
Babe Ruth continues to set records well after his death. The Sultan of Swat’s jersey from the 1920s managed to rake in $4.4 million this week, setting a world record as the world’s most expensive piece of sports memorabilia.
Sold by SCP Auctions the final price for the jersey was $4,415,658, surpassing the former record for the “original rules of basketball” which were written by Dr. James Naismith who created the game at a YMCA in 1891. The rules of basketball fetched $4,338,500 at auction.
This time around the winning bidder of the Babe Ruth jersey has chosen to remain anonymous.
The bid also means the famous T-206 Honus Wagner tobacco baseball car is no longer the most expensive piece of baseball memorabilia. The Wagner sold in 2007 for $2.8 million.
Bidding for the Babe Ruth jersey reached a frenzy as 36 people placed bids on the piece of sports history on April 30. Before going up for sale the jersey was housed in a Baltimore museum from 2004-2009 courtesy of a private collector.
The auction also produced some other big ticket items including Lawrence Taylor’s Super Bowl ring which fetched $230,401 alongside a Ruth cap that was worn by former Yankee David Wells which brought in $537,278. The auction also brought in $366,967 for the jersey Mickey Mantle was wearing when he hit his 535th home run.
If you really want to own a piece of Babe Ruth history his former Massachusetts home is up for sale with a buying price of 5,124, a steal if you consider it comes with 5,124 square feet.