The earliest known pair of Babe Ruth's New York Yankees pinstripes have sold for $183,500 at Grey Flannel Auctions' online sale.
Ruth wore the flannel pants on the opening day of the 1921 season.
 Some have claimed (falsely) that the Yankees created the pinstripe look to mask Ruth’s considerable girth |
As well as being "the earliest", they also arrived with superb provenance - two key factors in achieving the strong price.
The multiple photo-matched garment originally came from Claire Ruth, Ruth's second wife, in 1974.
Further adding to their appeal was the performance of Ruth that day: he went five for five, with two RBIs in an 11-1 win over the Philadelphia Athletics at New York's Polo Grounds.
Despite stemming from his earlier, leaner days, the pants were still a size "42". They still bear the name "Ruth" embroidered below the "A.G. Spalding Bros" manufacturer's label.
They include an extra eight and a half inches of material added by the Yankees, which enabled Ruth to roll up the legs and tuck them into his stirrup socks.
"A true piece of American and baseball history that you can reach out and touch; directly linked to the greatest player of all time," Grey Flannel said prior to the auction.
The result is a reminder to baseball investors of the difference in value collectors place between pants and jerseys.
 Ty Cobb's game used bat made $66,743 |
The earliest known Babe Ruth game-used jersey, from the Yankees' 1920 season, made $4.4m in May of this year, becoming the most valuable piece of sports memorabilia ever auctioned in the process.
The December 12-ending auction also saw a 1916-1918 Ty Cobb game-used bat sell for $66,743.
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