Sports business seems to be growing in all facets, whether its team valuations and player contracts.
On Dec. 4, there was more proof of the growth of sports — this time through the lens of sports memorabilia — after a baseball card of Major League Baseball legend Babe Ruth was sold for $7.2 million dollars.
The card was sold at the Robert Edward Auctions (REA) Fall Catalog Auction and was the third-highest sports card ever sold, behind the $12.6 million that a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle fetched and the $7.25 million a Honus Wagner card was sold for. Both were sold in the back half of 2022.
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The Ruth card was a Rookie card — which are the most valuable in the sports card industry — from Ruth’s 1914 season playing with his hometown Baltimore Orioles in the minor leagues.
The newly-sold Ruth card is one of only 10 in existence. The cards were printed in either red or blue variations, with the sold copy being of the red variation. A blue variation of the card can be seen on display at the Babe Ruth Birthplace Museum in Baltimore.
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Ruth spent most of his professional career playing for the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees, and he’s considered one of the greatest, if not the greatest, baseball player of all-time.
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