Babe Ruth Family Reflects on Legacy and Historic Memorabilia

Babe Ruth memorabilia continues to draw interest

The market for Babe Ruth memorabilia has remained a powerful reminder of how deeply the Yankees legend still resonates with collectors, historians, and his own family. When Heritage Auctions sold the jersey Ruth wore in his famous 1932 World Series “Called Shot” game for $24.12 million, the result set an all-time record for sports memorabilia and sent another wave of attention toward one of baseball’s most debated and celebrated moments.

For Ruth’s grandson, Tom Stevens, the price was eye-opening but not entirely surprising. He said the value of elite collectibles often rises alongside the broader sports economy, pointing to the massive contracts now common in professional baseball and other sports. The jersey sale also surpassed the previous sports memorabilia benchmark set in 2022, when a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card sold for $12.6 million.

At the time, the most expensive jersey ever sold at auction had been a Michael Jordan jersey from the 1998 NBA Finals, which brought $10.1 million. Ruth’s jersey also dwarfed the previous sale of a Ruth game-used bat, which brought $1.85 million in April 2023 and set a record for any baseball bat.

The Called Shot remains part of Ruth family history

The question of whether Ruth truly called his shot in Game 3 of the 1932 World Series has never been settled to everyone’s satisfaction. The home movie footage, shot from behind home plate by spectator Matt Kandle Sr., has fueled decades of debate. Some viewers see the gesture as clear evidence, while others view the story as baseball mythology that grew over time.

Stevens said the footage does not definitively prove the legend, but it also does not disprove it. He noted that the film shows Ruth gesturing, though the exact meaning of that gesture and what he may have said remains unclear. What is not in dispute is the result: Ruth drove the ball to center field in one of the most famous home runs in the sport’s history.

Other members of the Ruth family have long defended the story. Ruth’s granddaughter, Linda Ruth Tosetti, recalled a fan telling her mother, Dorothy Ruth Pirone, that he had been in the stands and saw Ruth point. In a 2005 interview, Ruth’s daughter, Julia Ruth Stevens, also said she believed the gesture happened and that the legend had only grown larger over the years.

Family members keep track of Ruth auctions and collectibles

Tom Stevens said the family pays attention to Ruth memorabilia sales out of interest, even if the biggest items are far beyond what most people could consider buying. He owns a replica of the Called Shot jersey and described the original as a gray road uniform made of wool, worn in Chicago during the World Series game.

The family website, BabeRuthCentral.com, has also highlighted items that have appeared at auction over the years. Among them were a Lou Gehrig signed and inscribed photograph to Babe, Ruth’s Yankees professional model cleats, and his signed 1935 final MLB contract with the Boston Braves.

Stevens said the family’s connection to Ruth memorabilia has always been personal as well as historical. He grew up surrounded by items tied to his grandfather and has continued to preserve what remains in the family. While he does not own the headline-grabbing pieces that have changed hands at auction, he said the real value is in Ruth’s legacy and the continuing public fascination with it.

Tom Stevens grew up around the game and the Yankees

Stevens, now in his 70s, said he was athletic as a youngster and played baseball well enough in high school to post a batting average near .350 in one season and about .300 over his career. He joked that scouts did not exactly line up to sign him, but his own interest in the game was real. As a child, he collected cards and looked for Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays.

Spring breaks in New York gave him unusual access to the Yankees. He would often stay with his grandmother, Claire, and attend games at Yankee Stadium, sometimes on Opening Day. Those visits led to photos and autographs with players including Mantle, Roger Maris, Tom Tresh, Bobby Richardson, Elston Howard, and Clete Boyer. Stevens said the signatures have faded over time, but the memories remain vivid.

He also said the family’s ties to the Yankees have loosened over the years, though he still attends games on occasion with the Red Sox because he summers in New England. He described growing up as a Yankees fan in Red Sox country as a conflicted experience, but one that only added to the fun of being around baseball.

Cooperstown visits and family connections to Hall of Famers

Trips to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown with his mother and grandmother also helped build Stevens’ collection and his appreciation for the game’s history. He said the family was invited for annual induction events for years, but the last visit came in 2019, the year his mother died.

Those Hall of Fame visits also brought him into contact with Ted Williams, who became a good family friend. Stevens said Williams and his son, John Henry, were regular presences during induction weekends. When Williams opened the Ted Williams Museum & Hitters Hall of Fame, Ruth was the first inductee, a choice Stevens said reflected Williams’ view of Babe as the greatest hitter of all time.

Stevens’ memorabilia collection also includes photos and signed items from other well-known figures. He said he has a signed picture of Chuck Connors that was given to his mother, along with a photo of actor Dana Andrews with his mother and grandmother. Julia Ruth Stevens had a strong interest in Hollywood and met a number of stars when she accompanied her father during filming of The Babe Ruth Story, including Betty Grable and Spencer Tracy.

Ruth memorabilia filled the family home

Much of Stevens’ childhood was shaped by the Ruth memorabilia that surrounded him. His mother’s home in Peoria, Arizona, displayed a wide range of items authorized through the Curtis Management Company, including statuettes, coffee mugs, plates, steins, a Wheaties box, and Red Rock Cola bottles labeled with “Sultan of Swat.” Photos of Ruth, family members, and celebrities covered the walls.

One of the most recognizable pieces in the family’s orbit was artist Robert A. Thom’s print, “The Mighty Babe,” which depicts Ruth in the Called Shot pose, standing in the batter’s box at Wrigley Field and gesturing toward center field. Stevens said the image captures the enduring power of the moment, including the line often attributed to Ruth that day: “I still got one strike left.”

Stevens said he inherited some of his mother’s collection and keeps selected pieces in his South Carolina home. He also noted that his own children and grandchildren are beginning to take a greater interest in Babe Ruth and the family history attached to him.

Autographs, checks, and the value of Ruth signatures

Autographs have long been a major part of Ruth collecting, and Stevens said his family has seen firsthand how fans have valued anything connected to the slugger. He recalled that his grandmother, Claire, often received requests for autographs after Ruth’s death. In some cases, she would provide canceled checks or other signed financial documents rather than a traditional autograph, because those carried Ruth’s name and were already available in the household.

Stevens said Ruth’s signatures on bank deposit slips and similar documents are still collectible, though they do not command the same prices as a clean Babe Ruth autograph on a baseball. He also recalled that his mother treasured the last hunting cap Ruth owned, the one with his license on it.

Stories about Ruth signing for children near the end of his life have become part of the family lore as well. Stevens said Ruth would sometimes sign autographs from his hospital window and have them delivered to the children gathered below, or drop them out the window himself.

Memorabilia from the Riverside Drive apartment

Not every Ruth item remained in the family. Stevens said that when it came to memorabilia from Ruth’s estate, executors gave almost all of it to the Hall of Fame. He said the museum was actively seeking items to display and that Ruth wanted to support baseball by helping preserve his own history.

Stevens said the Hall of Fame now has so much Ruth material that it rotates what is shown to the public. He described the Babe Ruth gallery as a room filled with memorabilia once owned by Ruth, a reflection of both the volume of surviving items and the generosity that helped place them there.

He also remembered visiting his grandmother’s apartment on Riverside Drive in New York City, where he found a cedar chest with some of Ruth’s uniforms and a duffle bag full of bats. As a child, he would swing those bats and gradually learn how Ruth’s grip and bat control worked. Stevens said the family no longer has the big-ticket items such as uniforms and bats, which had already moved into other hands by the time his grandmother passed away.

David Wells and another famous Ruth cap

One of the more unusual Ruth-related memorabilia stories involved former Yankees pitcher David Wells. In 1997, Wells bought a cap once worn by Ruth for $35,000 and later wore it in a game, despite warnings from the league and manager Joe Torre that doing so would violate uniform rules. The cap had “G Ruth” stitched inside it, and Wells said wearing it gave him a strong emotional connection to Ruth. He was fined $2,500 for the move.

Years later, Wells sold the cap at auction for $537,278. Stevens said the episode was consistent with Wells’ personality and the kind of attention that Ruth memorabilia can generate even decades after the player’s death.

Ruth’s legacy still shapes the hobby

Stevens said the family remains grateful that public interest in Babe Ruth has not faded. He pointed to the continued stream of books, exhibitions, and memorabilia sales as evidence that Ruth still occupies a central place in baseball history. He and his great-grandson, Brent Stevens, recently worked on a new coffee table book titled Out of the Mouth of Babe, which compiles famous Ruth quotes along with lesser-known facts and trivia.

Ruth’s standing in the game also remains strong because of his statistical legacy and the way modern stars are still measured against him. Stevens said Ruth’s career WAR, OPS, and OPS+ remain unmatched, and the rise of Shohei Ohtani has brought fresh comparisons to the Babe because of his two-way impact.

Collectors and museum officials say that Ruth’s appeal goes beyond the objects themselves. Greg Schwalenberg, former executive of the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum, said people donate items because they want the stories preserved and shared. Mike Gibbons, director emeritus and historian at the museum, said Ruth’s importance has not diminished and may even feel stronger in the modern era because of renewed interest in home run records and baseball history.

For the Ruth family, that ongoing interest is part of the inheritance. The memorabilia may move from one collection to another, and the auction prices may keep climbing, but the story attached to Babe Ruth still draws attention from collectors, historians, and fans who want to keep the game’s most famous name in view.