A Louisville Slugger glove that Babe Ruth once wore sold at auction for $1.5 million, a record price for a piece of sports memorabilia. The glove was purchased by an anonymous buyer at annual Louisville Slugger Factory & Museum Auction.
The glove is one of only two known to have been used by the legendary Yankees slugger. The other is on display at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. The Louisville glove was made specifically for Ruth and was used during the 1920 and 1921 seasons, according to the auction house.
Both gloves were part of a collection of Ruth memorabilia that was put up for sale by family members of a former Yankees batboy. The collection also included bats, photos and letters.
Babe Ruth's legacy as one of baseball's greatest players is cemented not only by his Hall of Fame career statistics, but also by the way his larger-than-life persona transcended the sport and made him an American icon.
Ruth was so popular that he was responsible for single-handedly saving baseball after the 1919 Black Sox scandal, in which eight Chicago White Sox players were accused of taking money from gambler Arnold Rothstein to fix that year's World Series. With baseball's reputation in tatters, Ruth's prodigious home run hitting helped reignite public interest in the sport and draw fans back to the ballparks.
During his 21-year career with the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees and Brooklyn Dodgers, Ruth smashed 714 home runs, a record that stood until 1974 when it was eclipsed by Hank Aaron. He also still holds Major League Baseball records for most career slugging percentage (.686) and on-base plus slugging (1.164).
The $1.5 million paid for Babe Ruth's glove at auction is a testament to both his enduring popularity and remarkable place in baseball history. More than 100 years after he made his major league debut, Ruth remains one of the most recognizable names in all of sports. And while many athletes have come along since then and surpassed his on-field accomplishments, none have matched his status as an American icon.