Ruth’s ‘called shot’ jersey sells for over $24 million

NEWS+NOTES

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, on Wednesday. L.M. OTERO — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

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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.

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.

Judge hits 50th and 51st homerS >> Aaron Judge hit a two-run homer in the first inning to become the fifth player with three 50-homer seasons and went deep again in the seventh as the New York Yankees routed the Colorado Rockies 10-3.

Judge reached 50 in New York’s 131st game. Two years ago when he hit 62 to break Roger Maris’ single-season AL mark, Judge reached 50 in the Yankees’ 129th contest.

After not homering for a fifth straight game Saturday, Judge reached the milestone when he hit an 0-2 changeup from Austin Gomber (4-9) and lifted it into the Colorado bullpen beyond the left-center field fence to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead.

Judge joined Babe Ruth, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and Alex Rodriguez as the only players with three 50-homer seasons. Ruth, McGwire and Sosa had four 50-homer seasons while Rodriguez had two with Texas and another for the Yankees in 2007.

Golf

Bradley wins BMW Championship >> Keegan Bradley went from the last man in the BMW Championship to a winner, closing with an even-par 72 for a one-shot victory that opened up all sorts of possibilities he never imagined possible a week ago.

Bradley pulled away from mistake-prone Adam Scott early on the back nine and delivered a clutch shot into the par-5 17th that all but sealed the seventh victory of his PGA Tour career, and the most unlikely.

The victory moved Bradley from No. 50 to No. 4 in the FedEx Cup, sending him to the Tour Championship where he will start four shots behind Scottie Scheffler in a 72-hole chase for the $25 million prize.

Ko wins Women’s British Open >> Lydia Ko captured her third major title — and first in eight years — by breaking free from a logjam of world-class talent to win the Women’s British Open at the home of golf on Sunday, capping a summer when she also took gold at the Olympic Games.

The 27-year-old Kiwi rolled in a left-to-right birdie putt at the storied 18th hole on the Old Course at St. Andrews to shoot 3-under 69 and then had to wait to finish ahead of top-ranked Nelly Korda, defending champion Lilia Vu and two-time champion Jiyai Shin.

That quartet of past or present No. 1s shared the lead at one point down the stretch of an engrossing final round played in cold, blustery and wet conditions before ending in sunshine.

Youth baseball

Florida rallies >> Lathan Norton scored from second base on an overthrow at first as Lake Mary, Florida, rallied to beat Taiwan 2-1 in eight innings and claim the Little League World Series championship.

Taiwan clung to a 1-0 from the first inning until Florida’s last at-bat. The team from Florida, representing the Southeast region, outhit Taiwan and had a runner on third in three separate innings, but couldn’t get a run across.