Almost a hundred years after Babe Ruth made his famous “called shot” during the 1932 World Series, the jersey he wore when he hit that home run could be sold for up to $30 million at auction.
Heritage Auctions will be offering the jersey on Saturday night in Dallas.
Ruth’s famous “called shot” happened on October 1, 1932, during Game 3 of the World Series between the New York Yankees and the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. In the fifth inning, Ruth made a gesture pointing to center field while at bat and then hit a home run off Cubs pitcher Charlie Root.
The Yankees won the game 7-5 and completed a sweep of the Cubs the following day to win the series.
That World Series was Ruth’s last, and the “called shot” was his final World Series home run, according to Mike Provenzale, the production manager for Heritage’s sports department.
“When you can tie an item like that to an important figure and their most important moment, that’s what collectors are really looking for,” Provenzale said.
Heritage said Ruth gave the road jersey to one of his golfing friends in Florida around 1940, and it stayed in that family for many years. In the early 1990s, the man’s daughter sold it to a collector.
The jersey was then sold at auction in 2005 for $940,000, and the current owner has now consigned it to Heritage this year.
In 2019, another of Ruth’s road jerseys from 1928-30 sold for $5.64 million in an auction held at Yankee Stadium. That jersey was part of a collection of items Ruth’s family had put up for sale.
