Spend any time at all in the sports autograph field and you’ll soon find that Babe Ruth’s autograph is as valuable as they come.
Usually.
I say usually because autographs are highly idiosyncratic products.
Their value is determined by a huge number of variables.
But, taking those vagaries into account Babe Ruth is just about the most collectible and valuable sports celebrity of all time.
And I say this as an English-born cricket fan.
Babe Ruth’s autograph: Who was Babe Ruth?
I was aware of the name Babe Ruth long before I knew anything of his life or his legend.
American popular culture is hegemonic. And Babe Ruth’s name is shorthand to US audiences, so it goes global.
Babe Ruth transcended his sport to become a major popular culture icon.
But shorthand for what?
For the best.
Like most standout figures in history he was also a pioneer.
And his big personality was as much a part of his public persona as his gigantic hitting prowess.
Ruth is probably the first modern sports star.
Let’s take a quick look at his life.
He was born George Herman Ruth Jr on February 6, 1895 in Baltimore, Maryland.
His mum and dad, George and Kate, were hard-working and had a tough time, losing six of their eight children in early childhood.
George Jr went somewhat off the rails and he was sent to a semi-religious Industrial School to get him back on the straight and narrow.
At St Mary’s George learned to love baseball.
School mentor Brother Matthias helped George hone his skills. He did so well that when the owner of the Baltimore Orioles team, Jack Dunn, was invited to watch him he signed him up for the team on the spot.
George was so young that Dunn was his legal guardian for the contract signing.
His new teammates called him “Jack’s newest babe” and Babe Ruth was born.
Ruth didn’t stay at the minor league Orioles for long, and was soon on his way to Boston and the Redsox.
Redsox fans still hate the fact that Ruth left them for New York.
Babe played as a pitcher to begin with (he was a genuine all-rounder), and by 1915 was a team regular in the Major League Redsox.
By 1918 he was switched to a batter and was the joint top home-run scorer in the league. The following year he set a record of 29.
On Boxing Day 1919 the New York Yankees bought him. Red Sox fans have never forgotten the sale that triggered a decades-long bad patch.
At the Yankees Babe’s big hitting style was more than just entertaining, it changed the sport.
Baseball was struggling with the legacy of the match fixing scandal of the 1919 World Series.
And for most of his career ordinary Americans were also struggling. The Great Depression destroyed livelihoods and lives.
Babe, from a working class background, was a hero for everyone as he helped make baseball America’s summer sport and the National Pastime.
In 1920 he hit 54 home runs. Only one team in the league scored more home runs than Babe’s individual tally.
In 1921 he broke the record again.
The New York Yankees were on the way to becoming the biggest team in baseball history, in The House that Ruth Built, as the new Yankee Stadium was called.
Lou Gehrig, left, was another Yankees star in Ruth's (second from right) 1927 team. It's considered by many to be the best ever baseball side.
The Yankees won seven league titles (pennants) and four World Series.
He retired in 1935 with 56 standing records.
He was one of the first into the brand new Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936.
He was diagnosed with cancer in 1946 and died on August 16, 1948.
More than 100,000 people paid their respects before his funeral.
Babe Ruth autographs
Babe Ruth brings together everything you need to make a sports player a star, a legend, and a must-have for collectors.
His story has it all - struggle, triumph, tragedy.
The fact that he died quite young, sadly, also adds to the appeal of memorabilia from his life.
We’ve mentioned the large number of variables that go into valuing autographs.
And they all apply to Ruth.
Authentic Babe Ruth autographs
First of all, you need to know you’re dealing with a valid, authentic signature.
Do your own research.
And buy from recognised dealers.
A great example of a Ruth-signed baseball.
Look for signatures that come with some sort of certification. Or good provenance - letters from people who knew Ruth, contemporaneous accounts of the signature.
Valuing Babe Ruth autographs
If you have an authentic Babe Ruth autograph you should be able to sell it for at least several thousand dollars.
But it could be worth much more than that.
- Setting matters.
- Quality matters.
- Date matters.
- The story matters.
- Context matters.
- Condition matters.
Analysis of auction sale prices in 2023 gave Ruth’s autograph the highest average price of any sportsperson, at $3,516.
Why isn't it more?
There are a lot of Babe Ruth autographs.
He signed almost everything he was asked to sign as one of the most recognised public figures of his age.
He was more accessible than today's footballers, for example, and an autograph was the go-to marketing ploy of his teams.
Hundreds of signed balls could be chucked into crowds during some games.
So, if you really want one you should be able to find a Babe Ruth autograph.
Let’s look at some of the most valuable Babe Ruth autographs to see why they’re priced so well.
In 1933 Babe Ruth signed a baseball for Johnny Sylvester, writing, “To my pal, Johnny Sylvester, from Babe Ruth." Johnny Sylvester had been a sick 11-year-old boy in 1926 when his dad begged Ruth to send a message to his son, a huge fan. Ruth promised to hit a home run for him, and then knocked three out of the park in the next game.
The signed baseball carries that story with it, and was sold in 2012 for $250,000 at auction.
In 1927 - the is the Yankees and Babe’s annus mirabilis and the most valuable for collectibles - Babe signed a baseball. In 2014 it made $388,375 at auction.
His 1919 Yankees contract made just shy of $1 million in 2005.
In 2019, a 1929 baseball signed by Babe realised $96,000.
In 2018 a ball signed by both Ruth and Lou Gehrig (his teammate, also a legend nicknamed the Iron Horse who also died young) made $343,000.
It’s hard to pick out much of a pattern there. And that’s revealing.
Alongside Hollywood star Gary Cooper for the Pride of the Yankees in 1946.
The most valuable items are sold at auction. Auctions are notoriously prey to buyer sentiment. A well-handled auction with the right buyers, great publicity, timed well (to coincide with an anniversary or biopic for example) might raise the price on an item significantly.
But the general rules apply.
An autograph on a good medium (a ball, jersey, photo, important document) is more valuable. A good quality, well preserved autograph is more valuable. An autograph from early in his life or the peak of his career (1927) is more valuable. An autograph that tells a story is more valuable.
Fake Babe Ruth autographs
There are fakes.
Ruth usually signed in black ink.
He had a big personality and a big, strong signature too.
Your best protection is always expert advice and written certification.
We certificate everything we sell as genuine and if it proves otherwise we refund all your money.
There are also third-party certification companies.
Buying Babe Ruth memorabilia now
Ruth cards are also the top-rated item in their class.
He’s got the most valuable autograph in sports.
And his jerseys set records. One sold for $5.6 million in 2019.
So do baseball cards - the super-rare one for his super-short Orioles career sold for $7.2 million in 2023.
Babe will probably always sell.
We sell a large selection of sports memorabilia.
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