Babe Ruth ‘Called Shot’ jersey shatters sports memorabilia record

Babe Ruth is now officially the king of sports memorabilia and collectibles.

The jersey Ruth was wearing when he hit his famous and controversial “called shot” home run in the 1932 World Series sold for a record $24.1 million in the Summer Platinum Night Sports Auction Aug. 24 at Heritage Auctions. The sale shattered the previous record of $12.6 million, which was held by a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card graded SGC 9.5. The card was sold in 2022, also by Heritage Auctions.

Chris Ivy, director of sports auctions at Heritage, called the Ruth jersey “the most significant piece of American sports memorabilia to be offered at auction in decades.” Heritage estimated the jersey could sell for as much as $30 million. It held a bid of $18.2 million with three days remaining in the auction before selling for $24,120,000 on Aug. 24.  

The jersey, bearing Ruth’s famous No. 3, has been photo-matched to Game 3 of the 1932 World Series by MeiGray Authenticated, which matched it to two photos from Getty Images and a third from The Chicago Daily News showing Ruth, Lou Gehrig and manager Joe McCarthy in the dugout.

According to Heritage, Ruth gave the jersey to a Florida man following a round of golf. The man kept it until his daughter auctioned it nearly two decades ago. It had not been photo-matched until recently.

Ruth’s “called shot” against Chicago Cubs pitcher Charlie Root has been argued and debated for decades—to the point that it has almost been accepted as fact that he indeed pointed toward centerfield before blasting Root’s fifth-inning fastball into the bleachers at Wrigley Field.

Whether fact, fiction or folklore, Ruth’s dramatic and controversial home run is considered one of the greatest moments in baseball history.

Heritage had the jersey on display at the National Sports Collectors Convention in Cleveland July 24-28 with collectors and hobbyists flocking to the Heritage booth to view the item.

“It’s a moment that’s been talked about for nearly a hundred years,” Ivey said at The National in Cleveland. “The controversy about, did Babe call his shot, did he not, was he pointing to Charlie Root, was he pointing to the bleachers, was he pointing to the Cubs dugout? I love the fact that that question and that controversy is why people still discuss it to this day,” he said. “And we even have footage of Ruth pointing. We know that he pointed, but it’s real grainy. It’s almost like the Bigfoot footage. You can’t tell what he’s pointing at and what he’s saying, but all we know is that the next pitch that Charlie Root threw went over the center field bleachers estimated at 490 feet.

“We know this was the jersey he was wearing in that historic moment of our national pastime, and this is one of those incredible pieces that crosses over. It’s not just a sports collectible, but it’s part of our American history and our American heritage, and it also crosses over into pop culture. … This is the type of piece that would be featured beautifully in the Smithsonian.”

Prior to The National, Heritage took the jersey back to Wrigley field, where it was displayed it at home plate, where Ruth hit the historic home run 92 years ago. Heritage allowed players and Cubs employees to view it inside the clubhouse and season-ticket holders also got a chance to view it.

“A lot of the staff at Wrigley got to see it,” Ivey said. “There are about 600 employees who work for the Cubs and when they let them know, ‘Hey, Babe Ruth’s called shot jersey is here for about an hour if you guys want to see it and come take photos,’ there were lines of hundreds of employees coming down to see it.”

The jersey was acquired by a well-known hobby pioneer around 1990 from a Florida women whose father played golf with Ruth during Yankees Spring Training near St. Petersburg. Ruth reportedly gave the jersey to his golfing buddy upon his retirement.

The jersey had a pre-auction estimate of $30 million, but Ivey predicted it could sell for even more.

“I think there’s 12 to 15 people that we are aware of who would pay around $15 million for it,” he said. “I wouldn’t be surprised to see it sell for $25 million or I wouldn’t be surprised to see it sell for $50 million.

“I think whoever buys it is going to have the finest piece of memorabilia in this hobby. It’s like owning the Mona Lisa or one of the finest pieces of art.”