Top 10 Most Expensive New York Yankees Memorabilia

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Loved and loathed in equal measure, there is no denying that the New York Yankees are the most successful team in Major League Baseball history. Here is Wikicollecting.org’s Top 10 Most Expensive New York Yankees Memorabilia.

10. Micky Mantle first Major League home run ball - $189,750

Lou Gehrig’s Murderer’s Row jersey

The ball Micky Mantle hit for his first Major League home run on May 1, 1951 against the Chicago White Sox sold for $189,750 at Sotheby’s in 2004.

The ball was retrieved and Mantle signed it: "My first H.R. in the Majors, May 1, 1951, 4:50 p.m. Chicago", and "6th inning off Randy Gumpert".

It was the first of 536 homers for Mantle.

9. Babe Ruth 1920 signed game bat - $216,000

A 1920 game bat wielded by Ruth in his first season as a Yankee sold for $216,000 at Sotheby’s in June 2005.

Ruth signed the bat and presented it to Chicago mayor William Hale Thompson in 1920.

8. Babe Ruth autographed 702nd home run ball - $230,000

The signed ball hit by Ruth for his 702nd career home run at Chicago’s Comiskey Park in July 1934 was sold by Hunt Auctions in October 2010 for $230,000.

7. A Babe Ruth game-worn Yankees cap circa 1920s/30s - $285,000

The game-worn cap, featuring Ruth’s name embroidered in the official Yankees script, is one of only three known Ruth Yankee caps to exist.

This example, dating from the 1920s or 30s, was sold by Hunt Auctions in July 2008 for $285,000

6. Lou Gehrig jersey from last full season - $329,000

Auctioned in June 2011, Gehrig’s game-used road jersey from his last full season in baseball in 1938 sold for $329,000 at Robert Edward Auctions in 2011.

5. Lou Gehrig Murderer’s Row season jersey - $717,000

The Yankees jersey worn by Gehrig during the legendary 1927 ‘Murderer’s Row’ season, in which he was voted MVP, sold for $717,000 by Heritage in November 2010.

4. Babe Ruth 1934 Yankees Japanese tour jersey - $771,000

The game-worn jersey used by Ruth during the Yankees' 1934 exhibition tour of Japan is one of the few to remain from the famous trip. It was sold by Mastro Auctions in August 2005 for $771,000.¹

3. Babe Ruth 1932 “Called Shot” Yankees jersey - $940,000

The road jersey is the one worn by Ruth during Game 3 of the 1932 World Series at Chicago Cubs’ Wrigley Field, when he famously called his home run by pointing to the centre-field bleachers before hitting it there. The Yankees won the game, and the series 4-0. It was the last of 10 World Series appearances for Ruth.

The jersey was sold in June 2005 at a Grey Flannel Auctions auction for $940,000.

2. Babe Ruth 1919 New York Yankees contract - $996,000

Bath Ruth’s Louisville Slugger bat

The contract that took Babe Ruth from the Boston Red Sox to the New York Yankees in December 1919 is the most expensive baseball document of its kind.²

It was sold by Sotheby’s in New York in June 2005 for $996,000 to Gotta Have It! Owner Peter Siegel, who described it as “an historical jewel, a diamond”.

1. Babe Ruth 1923 Louisville Slugger bat - $1.26m

The legendary bat used by Babe Ruth to hit the first ever home-run at Yankee Stadium is one of the most prized pieces of baseball memorabilia.

Ruth used the solid ash wood bat during the first game at the stadium on April 18, 1923, and hit three home runs in a 4-1 defeat of his previous team, the Boston Red Sox.³

The bat used to hit the first of these home runs was sold by Sotheby’s in December 2004 for a record price of $1,265,000.