Babe Ruth is still shattering records more than 63 years after his death.
A 1920 Yankees jersey, the oldest known to have been worn by the Sultan of Swat, sold for a world-record $4.41 million, auctioneers said yesterday.
The Ruth jersey is believed to be the most ever paid for any one piece of sports memorabilia. It topped the $4.3 million sale of James Naismith’s original rules of basketball, according to SCP Auctions of Laguna Nigel, Calif.
The road gray duds date back to the Bambino’s first season in New York. Baseball players didn’t wear numbers yet, but the jersey was identified with “RUTH G.H.” — as in George Herman Ruth — stitched inside the collar.
“Babe Ruth is the king. He’s always been the king in our business,” said SCP president David Kohler.
“He’s a national heirloom. Everything he did was just bigger. He was bigger than the sport of baseball.”
The buyer, for now, wants to remain anonymous.
Another Ruth item, his 1934 cap, went for $537,278.
Yankee pitcher David Wells famously wore the cap during a game in 1997 before manager Joe Torre — fearing Major League Baseball would come down on the Yanks or Wells for violating uniform policy — told him to take it off.