Iconic Babe Ruth jersey could sell for record-breaking US$30 million

Babe Ruth circa 1930. The baseball heavyweight's jerseys have broken multiple records at auction (MPI / Getty Images via CNN Newsource)

The jersey that legendary New York Yankees player Babe Ruth wore when he hit one of baseball’s most famous home runs could sell for US$30 million this month — which would make it by far the most expensive game-worn jersey ever sold.

Ruth was wearing his road gray No. 3 jersey when he played against the Chicago Cubs in the 1932 World Series. He appeared to gesture toward something in center field just before hitting a fifth-inning home run into the bleachers. 

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Over the last 92 years, the “Called Shot” has become infamous in baseball lore, being “endlessly celebrated, imitated and replicated,” according to a press release by Heritage Auctions, which is offering the sale.

However, where Ruth was actually pointing — at something deep in the field, like the flagpole, or at the Cubs pitcher — has been contested over the years.

Babe Ruth's 'Called Shot' home run is one of baseball's most famous moments — and the jersey he wore at the time is now up for sale (Heritage Auctions/HA.com via CNN Newsource)

“The ‘Called Shot’ is something we’re still talking about almost 100 years later, which is incredible,” said Chris Ivy, director of Heritage’s sports auctions, in a call with CNN. “And we’re discussing it because of the controversy, because of the mystery.”

“Did Ruth really call the shot?” he added. “We know he points because there’s some grainy footage from someone out in the stands, but from that footage, you can’t see which direction he’s pointing.”

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Baseball games would not be televised until 1939, according to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, leaving journalists to be the first to report what happened that day. According to Heritage Auctions, sports editor Joe Williams is credited with the first headline that reported Ruth called the shot, likening it to a billiards game, and Ruth quickly embraced the story.

The auction will take place August 23–25 and will showcase other historic sports memorabilia including one of Michael Jordan’s “Last Dance” Chicago Bulls jerseys and a signed and game-used bat from baseball great Jackie Robinson.

Another “Last Dance” jersey, which Jordan wore during the 1998 NBA Finals, sold for a record US$10.1 million in 2022, making it the most expensive basketball jersey to sell at auction, CNN previously reported.

Opening bids for Ruth’s “Called Shot” jersey have already surpassed $14 million, almost a week before it’s available at auction. The iconic Yankees garb has been authenticated twice, according to the auction house, and can be photo-matched to two pictures from Getty Images and a third from The Chicago Daily News showing Ruth, teammate Lou Gehrig and manager Joe McCarthy in the dugout.

Ruth’s famed baseball career spanned 22 seasons and included 714 home runs and seven World Series titles. While the pitcher and outfielder is best known for his time with the New York Yankees, he won three of his World Series titles with the Boston Red Sox. In 1936, he became one of the five inaugural members elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Ruth wore the jersey in the last World Series of his career (Heritage Auctions/HA.com via CNN Newsource)

In 2019, a Babe Ruth jersey from 1928-1930 fetched US$5.64 million at auction, making it the most expensive pieces of sports memorabilia ever sold at the time. It broke the previous record — another Ruth jersey — that went for US$4.4 million.

In a press statement, Ivy described the “Called Shot” jersey “the most significant piece of American sports memorabilia to be offered at auction in decades.”

“Given its history, its mythology, we expect that when the final bid is placed, it will hold the record as the most expensive sports collectible ever to cross the auction block,” he added.