Babe Ruth’s ‘called shot’ World Series baseball shirt sells for record $24 million

A baseball shirt worn by one of the game’s greatest ever players – Babe Ruth – has sold in the US for a record-breaking $24.1 million (£18.2 million).

The New York Yankees jersey was worn by Ruth when he hit a home run to help his team win the 1932 World Series in one of the most famous moments in the history of the game.

Ruth was famously seen gesturing to the outfield before the ball was pitched leading to a theory he had “called his shot” before hitting the home run.

Sports fans spent more than six hours in a bidding war before one collector won the auction breaking a previous record for sports memorabilia set two years ago when a collector paid $12.6 million (£9.53 million) for a trading card featuring Ruth’s fellow Yankee’s legend Micky Mantle.

Ruth kept the jersey after he retired before giving it to a friend whose daughter eventually sold it for a six-figure sum in the 1990s. It sold again at auction in 2005 for $940,000 (£711,000).

Chris Ivy, Director of Sports at Heritage Auctions who sold the shirt, said it was “the most significant piece of American sports memorabilia ever offered at auction”.

He said: “It has been an honour and a privilege to work with this incredible piece of American history, and I am proud that it will now be part of one of the finest private collections in the world.

“It is clear by the strong auction participation and record price achieved 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.”

Ruth, who died in 1948, was elected to the sport’s Hall of Fame in 1936 as one of its ‘first five’ inaugural members and is a legendary figure in American sport.