A newly discovered baseball jersey worn by New York Yankees star Mickey Mantle for the 1960 All-star Game is expected to make around $4 million when it is auctioned in August.
The No. 7 shirt has been signed by the player, one of the most collectible stars in the history of baseball, and will be sold at Heritage Auctions.
It has been authenticated and identified as the specific shirt that Mantle, a centre fielder and one of the greatest hitters in baseball history, wore in the All-star game by using 13 photographs that show unique details on the garment.
Two All-Star games were played in 1960, and Mantle represented the American League side in both. He was on the losing side both times, in Kansas City and New York’s Yankee Stadium, his home for his professional career.
While modern sport shirts are often discarded after a single use, a 1960s baseball player might wear the same uniform through several seasons.
Mantle wore this shirt at least into 1961’s spring training.
It has come to sale, for the first time publicly, via one of Mantle’s teammates, from whose estate it was bought by the current seller.
The most valuable Mickey Mantle shirt thus far sold realised $4.6 million in 2023. In 2024, a shirt Mantle wore in a World Series win made $3 million.
Mickey Mantle is also beloved of baseball card collectors. His rookie card in the 1952 TOPPS series is the most valuable sports card ever sold, making $12.6 million in 2022.
The most valuable baseball shirt ever sold is also the most valuable item of sports memorabilia ever sold. It is the jersey worn by Babe Ruth when he struck the “called shot” home run in the 1932 World Series. It realised $24.1 million last August, again, in part due to extensive photomatching.
Heritage describe the jersey as “100% unaltered”, “spectacular” and a “museum-caliber artefact”. It will be sold in their Summer Platinum Nights Sports Auction on August 23 – 24.
