Yankees Document Acquiring Babe Ruth Up for Auction
By David Hill
One of the most infamous acquisitions in MLB history occurred when the Red Sox sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees. The document agreeing to the trade is now going up for auction.
Before the Red Sox sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees, the two ballclubs had a vastly different history. The Red Sox were the team of the 1910’s, winning four World Series championships in that decade. Overall, they had five titles in their first 19 years, having established themselves as the top team in the league.
The Yankees, meanwhile, were a laughingstock. Although they finished second three times, the Yankees were typically a second division team, just not good enough to contend. That is, until the moment they got Ruth. For there, the Red Sox and Yankees fortunes would change, with the Red Sox enduring 86 years without a title. Meanwhile, the Yankees would become the dominant team in the game, winning 26 titles in that time.
In perhaps the most infamous trade in history, Ruth was sold for $100,000, and a $300,000 loan. This allowed him to mortgage Fenway Park, and to produce a Broadway play. Harry Frazee, the Red Sox owner, felt that home runs were more “spectacular” than useful, and was not a fan of Ruth’s lifestyle. He would prove to be wrong.
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Now, one of the documents from the trade are heading up for auction. Lelands.com will be selling the former owner of Yankees, Jacob Ruppert’s, copy of the agreement. While there is no telling what this copy will sell for, the one that had been owned by Frazee sold for nearly $1 Million in 2005.
As impressive of a sum as Frazee’s copy fetched, Ruppert’s copy could go for a lot more. The current owner turned down $5 Million for the document previously, and would seemingly be hoping for a similar sum of money, if not more.
This is not the only item related to Ruth that will be available in the auction. His 1927 World Series ring is also being sold, and is expected to shatter the record for the most costly championship ring. That title, at least for now, belongs to the ABA championship ring that had belonged to Julius Erving. This ring, owned by Ruth as part of the Murderer’s Row, should easily surpass that mark.
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One of the most infamous trades in MLB history occurred when the Red Sox sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees. Now, the Yankees copy of that document is coming up for sale.