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

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

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, 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 buddies in Florida around 1940 and it remained in that family for decades. Then, in the early 1990s, that man's daughter sold it to a collector. It was then sold at auction in 2005 for $940,000 and remained in a private collection until being consigned to Heritage this year.

There's been debate for decades over whether Ruth really called the shot. But Gibbons said there's home movie footage of the game that shows Ruth pointing, though it's not clear whether he’s pointing at the pitcher, center field or toward the Cubs bench. Regardless, he said, Ruth, who had a history of making predictions, clearly “said something’s going to happen on the next pitch and he made it happen.” And, he said, Ruth himself said he'd called the shot.

“We think certainly that he did call his shot,” Gibbons said.

News reel footage shows Ruth rounding the bases after the home run and making a pushing out gesture toward the Cubs bench, as if to say “I gotcha,” Gibbons said.

The “called shot,” was an extraordinary moment from a man Gibbons called “the standard-bearer for all of Major League Baseball.”

“He was always uplifting, he was something very positive for this country to root for,” Gibbons said. “Then he caps it all off by calling his shot.”

Associated Press video journalist Kendria LaFleur contributed to this report.

Mike Provenzale, Production manager at Heritage Auctions, talks about the 1932 Babe Ruth game worn New York Yankees World Series "Called Shot" jersey on display at Heritage Auctions in Irving, Texas, Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

The 1932 Babe Ruth game worn New York Yankees World Series "Called Shot" jersey is displayed at Heritage Auction in Irving, Texas, Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

FILE - Retired Yankees slugger Babe Ruth warms up with three bats before stepping to the plate at New York's Yankee Stadium, August 21, 1942. (AP Photo/Tom Sande, File)

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

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

The 1932 Babe Ruth game worn New York Yankees World Series "Called Shot" jersey is displayed in a sealed glass box at Heritage Auction in Irving, Texas, Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

BANGKOK (AP) — Germany sailed two warships through the Taiwan Strait on Friday in its first transit of the disputed waters in more than two decades, as Berlin seeks to increase its defense engagement in the Asia-Pacific region.

China claims the self-governing democratic island of Taiwan as its own, and views such transits as provocative actions.

To challenge China's claims, the United States and allies including Australia, Canada, Britain and France, have regularly conducted “freedom of navigation” operations there, sailing through the strait to emphasize that it is international waters.

In its last naval deployment to the region in 2021-22, Germany had sought to avoid confrontation with China and attempted a diplomatic balancing act, seeking a port call in China, which Beijing denied, and by not sailing through the Taiwan Strait.

The government was widely criticized for this approach, and on this deployment to the Indo-Pacific, leaders decided to sail through the strait en route from South Korea to the Philippines in a widely-telegraphed move.

“The signal is a very simple one, which we have always maintained and I have always maintained,” German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told reporters in Berlin. “International waters are international waters.”

Taiwan's Defense Ministry confirmed in a post on X that the frigate Baden-Wuerttemberg and support ship Frankfurt am Main had transited through the strait from north to south, adding that throughout the sail "the situation remained normal."

China, which often reacts sharply to American warships transiting the strait, was somewhat muted in its response.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told reporters that for Beijing, “the Taiwan issue is not an issue of freedom of navigation, but an issue related to China's sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

She said that while China respects the navigation rights of all countries, “we firmly oppose provocations endangering China’s sovereignty and security in the name of freedom of navigation.”

The European Union three years ago embarked on a new strategy for the Asia-Pacific aimed at boosting economic, political and defense ties. Part of that has been focused on improving maritime security and ensuring safe passage through sea lanes.

It comes at a time when China is becoming increasingly assertive in pushing its maritime claims in the region, including on virtually the entire South China Sea and on Taiwan.

China maintains that Taiwan is part of its territory, and President Xi Jinping has not ruled out taking it by force.

China sends warplanes and warships near Taiwan on a near-daily basis in an attempt to intimidate its citizens and degrade the island’s defenses.

In response, Taiwan has extended the period of national military service to one year, building its own submarines and importing sophisticated new equipment from the U.S.

The vast majority of Taiwanese favor the current status of their island, which separated from mainland China amid civil war in 1949.

FILE - A Taiwan national flag flutters near the Taipei 101 building at the National Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall in Taipei, Taiwan, on May 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying, File)