The Babe can still draw crowds and make a lot of money.
The jersey worn by New York Yankees legend Babe Ruth when he hit one of the most talked-about home runs in baseball history is going up for auction, creating a frenzy among wealthy sports fans willing to spend tens of millions of dollars.
The “Cold Shot” jersey worn by the Babe in the 1932 World Series is set to go up for sale later this month, with the current bid set at a whopping $14.1 million, according to a memorabilia website. Handling the auction.
The Yankees outfielder and one of the best sluggers in baseball wore the jersey when he hit a home run against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field in Game 3 of the Championship Series.
But what makes this moonshot meaningful 92 years later is whether or not “The Great Bambino” gestured toward the outfield fence to direct the shot before hitting the next ball.
“Ruth’s World Series jersey is the most significant piece of American sports memorabilia to come up at auction in decades,” said Chris Ivey, Heritage’s director of sports auctions. He said in a statement.
“Given its history, mythologyOnce the final bid is made, we expect this piece to hold the record as the most expensive sports collectible ever sold at auction.”
Ruth was pointing at something during the game, but it’s not 100% clear if it was the center field wall.
Still, the famous point-and-swing move has been recreated in various baseball movies and paintings ever since, and likely by hundreds of kids playing baseball in sandlots.
Ruth hit an astounding 714 home runs in his career, the most of any player for decades until Hank Aaron broke the record in 1974. He also won seven World Series championships, including in 1932.
The jersey was purchased by a noted hobbyist in the 1990s near the Yankees’ spring training facility in St. Petersburg from an older Florida woman whose father had been a golfing buddy of Ruth’s. She said the jersey was a retirement gift from the Babe to her father.
The sale price at the time was $975,000. CBS reported.
Heritage Auctions estimates the jersey could fetch up to $30 million when it goes up for auction on Aug. 23.
“People were saying the buyer was crazy to pay $1 million for an old baseball uniform,” Ivey told CBS.
“But by the end of this auction, he’s going to look like a very smart guy.”
“In the realm of sports collectibles, this is the greatest sports collectible of all time,” Ivey added.
