Ruth Bat Sells For Record Price

A Babe Ruth game-used bat dating to the Boston Red Sox' 1918 World Series winning season - arguably the most important piece of lumber from baseball's most iconic player - realized $537,750 at Heritage Auctions Oct. 1-2 Signature Sports Memorabilia Auction.

The auction totaled just more than $4.2 million. All prices include 19.5% Buyer's Premium.

"We saw very solid results across the board," said Chris Ivy, Director of Sports at Heritage Auctions. "The Ruth bat was the icing on the cake in an auction that featured examples from many of the greatest names in sports. Time and time again in this auction we saw totals far exceed the pre-auction estimates multiple times. It shows that demand for the highest quality material, as Heritage Auctions specializes in, will never diminish."

While the bat that Ruth used to crush the first homer on opening day of Yankee Stadium in 1923, a relic which commanded $1.2 million at a December 2004 auction, is the most famous Ruth Bat, the remarkable Hillerich & Bradsby sold at Heritage Auctions not only predates that bat by five years, it is also the "parent" model of all Ruth bats to come