The baseball uniform Babe Ruth wore to promote the 1939-1940 New York World’s Fair has sold at auction.
The unusual garment topped SCP Auctions' sports memorabilia sale on January 21, selling for $227,854.
Babe Ruth wore the uniform to many public events
Held at the height of the Depression, the fair was intended to boost spending in New York City.
Long-retired New York Yankees star Babe Ruth was delighted to be asked to promote the event. He sported this unique outfit, which bears the fair’s Trylon and Perisphere symbols, to a number of public gatherings.
Ruth's uniform came with superb provenance from Ruth's family and had previously been on display at Baltimore’s Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum in the 70s and 80s.
“It’s no surprise that once again, Babe Ruth carried the day in an auction featuring a broad array of historic sports memorabilia,” commented Dan Imler, SCP Auctions' vice president.
“The 'Sultan of Swat' still resonates with collectors more than any other name in sports history, nearly 70 years after his passing.”
A circa 1920 Babe Ruth Yankees jersey holds the sports memorabilia auction record. It sold for $4.4m at Lelands in 2012, its status as the earliest known Ruth jersey proving irresistible to collectors.
Sing Sing inmates crafted the box for Babe Ruth
A beautiful wooden box made for Ruth by the inmates of the notorious Sing Sing prison in 1930 sold for $23,386 in the present auction.
The previous year, Ruth and the Yankees had played a played a game against the prison team, known as the "Black Sheep". The Yanks won 15-3.
Please sign up to our free newsletter to receive exciting news about sports memorabilia auctions.
