Newz Forum: BASEBALL: Ruth's historic bat on display in Cleveland

CLEVELAND (AP) - The bat Babe Ruth used to hit the first home run in Yankee Stadium more than 80 years ago is on display at a sports show and could be sold for more than $1 million this year.

The bat is among the memorabilia displayed at The National Sports Collectors Convention, which runs through Sunday.
The owner of the bat, SportsCards Plus, said in June that it planned to auction the bat. On Thursday, Sotheby's said it would handle the auction Dec. 2 in New York.

The only two other pieces of sports memorabilia to eclipse $1 million have been the Honus Wagner T-206 card and Mark McGwire's 70th home run ball. The sale possibly could exceed the original cost to build Yankee Stadium - $2.5 million.

SportsCards Plus auction director Dan Imler, said it's hard to put a price tag on a piece of history.

"Ruth was a man of mythic proportions. More than any other man, he transcended sports, achieving a nearly unrivaled status as an American icon," Imler said. "This bat, the ultimate tool of his trade, is the finest sports artifact we'll see in our lifetime."

The historic homer came in the third inning on April 18, 1923, against the Boston Red Sox before a crowd of 74,000, with nearly 25,000 more fans turned away.

"I'd give a year of my life if I could hit a home run in the first game in this new park," Ruth said before the game.

He lined a shot into the right-field bleachers, a three-run homer that led the Yankees to a 4-1 victory, prompting sports writer Fred Lieb to dub the new park, "The House That Ruth Built."

Other Ruth memorabilia set to be auctioned by Sotheby's in December include his will and a used baseball glove.

then in a few months they will find cork in it & the headline of the paper is gonna read- " BABE BAT WITH A DOSE OF SAMMY" or they will find out that he did steroids.

it is a shame that these pieces of history are in private hands and will be sold....treasures like these belong in the baseball hall of fame

So true Toejam.

The people don't really think anything of it at the time, but then eventually, they are worth something and they aren't in the hall, making it totally crappy.