Babe Ruth's 'called shot' jersey sells at auction for over $24 million US

The jersey Babe Ruth wore when he called his shot during the 1932 World Series, hitting a home run to centre field, sold at auction early Sunday for over $24 million US.

Heritage Auctions said the New York Yankee slugger's jersey went for a record-breaking $24.12 million after a bidding war that lasted over six hours when it went on the block in Dallas. The buyer wishes to remain anonymous, Heritage said.

The amount that the jersey sold for topped fellow Yankee Mickey Mantle's 1952 rookie card, which the Dallas-based auction house sold for $12.6 million in 2022.

Chris Ivy, Heritage's director of sports, calls the jersey "the most significant piece of American sports memorabilia ever offered at auction." He said in a news release that it was clear from the bidding that "astute collectors have no doubt as to what this Ruth jersey is and what it represents."

"The legend of Babe Ruth and the myth and mystery surrounding his `called shot' are united in this one extraordinary artifact," Ivy said.

Ruth's famed, debated and often imitated "called shot" came as the Yankees and Chicago Cubs faced off in Game 3 of the World Series at Chicago's Wrigley Field on Oct. 1, 1932. In the fifth inning of the heated game, Ruth made a pointing gesture while at bat and then hit the home run off Cubs pitcher Charlie Root.

"It is the most dramatic moment in World Series history, and it may be the most dramatic moment ever in all of baseball," said Michael Gibbons, director emeritus and historian at the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum in Baltimore.

The Yankees won the game 7-5 and swept the Cubs the next day to win the series.

That was Ruth's last World Series, and the "called shot" was his last home run in a World Series, said Mike Provenzale,