The New York Yankees’ jersey worn by baseball legend Babe Ruth in the “Called Shot” game will be offered for sale at an upcoming auction organized by Heritage Auctions. It is estimated that the jersey could be sold for $30 million, setting a new record for sports memorabilia.
The “Called Shot” game was actually a Game 3 of the 1932 World Series against the Chicago Cubs. Ruth was at bat in the fifth inning and made a pointing gesture before facing a pitch. He went on to hit a home run, prompting one reporter to write that Ruth “called his shot”. The event soon became legendary among baseball fans and added to Ruth’s stardom.
The jersey that Heritage Auctions is offering up for auction was previously sold for $940,000 in 2005. At the time, it was dated to 1932, and it was believed that Ruth wore it at some point in that year’s World Series. However, authentication company MeiGray Authenticated recently did extensive research on the jersey using photographs and other data, determining that it is the jersey from the “Called Shot” game.
Before the auction, which takes place on 23 August, Ruth’s “Called Shot” will be displayed at Cleveland’s National Sports Collectors Convention and Heritage Auctions’ offices in New York City and Palm Beach.
“This Ruth jersey had no intrinsic value at the time; it was just a dirty old baseball shirt when Ruth was wearing it in 1932,” Chris Ivy, Heritage Auctions’ director of sports auctions, told ESPN. “A lot of this stuff was lost to time. Jerseys were sent down to the minor leagues or worn in practice until they fell apart and then were thrown away. The fact that this piece has made it for 90-plus years and it represents one of the most significant moments of not only Babe Ruth’s career but the history of this sport that’s interwoven with the fabric of America, that’s pretty cool.”