The Babe Ruth memorabilia auction market is in full swing this year. There are a number of very interesting items that have either recently sold or in active auctions as we speak.
This past weekend, almost 800 items belonging to the Ted Williams estate were auctioned off in Fenway Park. The highest-priced piece was Ted Williams’ 1949 MVP plaque, which sold for $299,000. Another high-priced item was a ball signed by Babe Ruth to Ted Williams that read, “To my pal Ted Williams, From Babe Ruth.” The ball went for $195,500, which was a record sale for a Babe Ruth autographed ball that was not used in a game.
As cool an item as the ball is, for the super wealthy fans out there, there are some additional opportunities to pick up some amazing pieces of Babe Ruth history:
Below is a link to a baseball cap that Babe Ruth wore in 1934. To add to the uniqueness, the hat was most recently owned by former Yankee pitcher, David Wells, who is one of only 21 perfect game pitchers in baseball history. Wells, a die-hard Ruth fan, decided to honor the Babe by wearing the cap while he was pitching against the Cleveland Indians on June 28, 1997. As of this article, it’s currently going for Check it out here:
But, the most exciting piece by far is a uniform worn by Babe Ruth that may break the record for baseball memorabilia (the current record holder is a mint T-206 Honus Wagner tobacco baseball card which was purchased for $2.8 million in 2007). Uniforms in general are a more unique, higher-priced category of memorabilia; however, this particular uniform was worn by the Babe during the 1920 season. 1920 was significant for the Babe and baseball for a number of reasons. It was his first season with the Yankees after being traded by the Red Sox. It was his first season as a full time hitter, which clearly made a difference. He broke his own home run record of 29, with an amazing 54 – an unprecedented feat for its time. Lastly, with this amazing mark, Babe lead baseball into a new era – the long ball. Many attribute Babe with helping to transform the game and save baseball after the 1919 Black Sox scandal. There’s no question just how significant a year that was for the Babe and this particular uniform.
As of this article, it’s currently going for $535,900. Check it out here:
These items are far out of reach of most of us sports memorabilia fans, but if you’re interested in your own piece of Babe Ruth history, there are many other items available right now – other uniforms, numerous photos and autographs, including a contract between Ruth and NBC Radio from 1943 that has been in the Ruth Family collection since its creation. View all of these items here:
In addition, if you have Babe Ruth-related or other sports memorabilia that you’d be interested in selling, let us know at BRC. We’d be happy to help connect you with our Auction Partner!
