The contract that Babe Ruth signed two years before he jumped ship to the New York Yankees sold at an auction in Baltimore for $1.02 million.
The sale coincided — by one day after — with the 100th anniversary of Mr. Ruth’s big debut with the Boston Red Sox on July 11, 1914, the New York Post reported. Then, he made $2,500 — or about $60,000 by modern figuring.
The contract was signed by the Bambino in 1918 and sold at a Sports Legends Museum auction in the city where he was born.
Mr. Ruth was sold by Red Sox owner Harry Frazee to the Yankees in 1920 for $100,000.
Other items sold at the auction included a baseball signed by Mr. Ruth for $96,000; ticket stubs from the Yankees’ 1927 World Series clincher, for $58,000; and a glove that Mickey Mantle used from 1965 to 1966, for $180,000.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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