Growing up in Baltimore, I was always proud that the best baseball player of all time, Babe Ruth, was a local kid.
I grew up going on field trips to the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum. I was familiar with St. Mary’s Industrial School For Boys, where Ruth went to boarding school, and Brother Matthias, who introduced Ruth to baseball. I knew the story of Jack Dunn, who gave Ruth his first taste of professional baseball with the minor league Baltimore Orioles. I always took pride that Ruth was Baltimore’s Babe.
As an adult who works in the sports and collectibles market, I have been blown away by how much Ruth is beloved by collectors all over the country and the world. However, I’ve also noticed that Ruth is not considered a Baltimore player and maybe not even a New York player — just the greatest player of all time. The prices his collectibles fetch reflect the magnitude of the extraordinary career of “The Babe.”
I spoke to Chris Brigandi of Brigandi Coins & Collectibles in New York on the phone recently about Ruth memorabilia. Brigandi is a longtime vintage dealer of high-end memorabilia and historical items.
“Babe Ruth is a blue chip,” Brigandi said. “… He consistently and steadily goes up in value. He is someone that in 50 or 100 years people will still be collecting.”
“If I could invest in one player for my children it would be Babe Ruth,” he added.
So if Ruth is this beloved, how come we hear about Mickey Mantle baseball cards or Honus Wagner baseball cards more than we hear about Ruth cards? Well, there are plenty of very expensive Ruth cards, but more importantly, Ruth memorabilia is truly special to anybody who collects sports memorabilia or American history memorabilia. This speaks to Brigandi’s point that Ruth is forever beloved.
This made me wonder what Ruth items have sold recently and how much these items are selling for. This list is a selection of relatively recent sales of some fantastic Ruth memorabilia and cards. This truly shows the power of Ruth, not just in Baltimore but to collectors all over the world. Babe Ruth was born in 1895 and died in 1948. It has been nearly 75 years since his death, and his memorabilia remains the most sought-after of any player in the history of sports as far as I can tell.
- 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth #53 card graded PSA 9: $4.2 million
- 1918-1922 Babe Ruth game-used and signed bat: $1.68 million
- New York Yankees jersey from 1928-1930: $5.64 million
- A glove used by Babe Ruth during the second half of his career: $1.53 million
- 1914 Baltimore News Babe Ruth card SGC 3: unconfirmed, approximately $5.6 million
We are still blessed to have the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum in Baltimore. It is truly keeping the legacy of Ruth alive in Charm City. You can see the actual room that Ruth was born in along with artifacts and personal items you will not have access to anywhere else that tell the story of Ruth. As a lifelong sports fan, I have come to truly appreciate the gift that we were given when Ruth was born in Baltimore and released to the world.
There are very few athletes who have had the celebrity and notoriety that Ruth had at the time they played and after. In fact, not many athletes have had expressions created around their play that are now used in mainstream society. “That person’s out in left field” describes someone who might be out of it or not in the right frame of mind. One theory on the origin of the expression is that since Ruth hit home runs to right field, any fan who sat in left field at one of Ruth’s games was in the wrong place.
I hope the items listed here provide some insight into how much Ruth is appreciated by collectors and sports fans alike. I urge you to take advantage of the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum and take pride in knowing the greatest player in baseball history is a son of Baltimore. We should also acknowledge Al Kaline, Jimmie Foxx, Cal Ripken Jr. and so many more baseball players who are from Baltimore or Maryland. However, there is only one George Herman Ruth … and he’s from Baltimore.
Have you had cards since you were a kid and now you want to sell them? Please email any questions to Danny@SportsBalt.com or visit SportsBalt.com
Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum
Issue 278: December 2022 / January 2023
Originally published Dec. 21, 2022