Heritage Auctions has added a 2019 letter from Resolution Photomatching to its lot for a game-used Babe Ruth jersey, said to have been worn in the "Called Shot" game from the 1932 World Series.
The addition comes eight days after cllct reported Resolution had failed to return a definitive photo-match for the jersey in three examinations (2019, 2021 and 2022).
Three companies -- Meigray, PSA and End-to-End -- have photo-matched the jersey as worn by Ruth in Game 3 of the the 1932 Series.
Resolution, frequently used previously by Heritage for photo-matching its high-end jerseys, was not contacted by Heritage for this auction.
However, Resolution was asked to match the jersey by the consignor and failed to come up with a definitive match three times.
In a move that will show some transparency, Heritage posted the 2019 letter Resolution gave to the consignor.
"The 2019 Resolution Photomatching letter has been posted with the 1932 Babe Ruth 'Called Shot' jersey online listing," said Chris Ivy, who heads up sports sales for the Dallas-based firm. "The jersey is both authentic as well as a clear photo match to Ruth’s 'Called Shot' to any objective observer that cares to impartially review all the facts."
The 2019 letter by Resolution does not call the Ruth jersey a ResMatch, but it does say "the alignment of the buttons and the seam with the custom stitched 'Y' ... appear to be approximately the same on the jersey worn by Ruth in multiple images analyzed as compared to the jersey presented to us."
"We would have loved nothing more than to have been able to call the jersey a ResMatch," Resolution Photomatching founder John Robinson said in a statement earlier this week. "We passed up a very significant amount of money and exponentially more value in publicity.
"We knew that our very high-end client would be upset if we didn’t make a photomatch determination, and that our competitors would then get the opportunity. But we’re always objective first, no matter the magnitude of the item. And in this case, the evidence didn’t allow that determination."
Robinson added that the details showed some promise of a match, but were ultimately inconclusive.
"We also did not see the evidence to be able to call it a 'likely photo-match;' though to be clear, we did not see evidence specifically opposing the possibility of use," he said. "Upon prompting we wrote a brief letter of opinion detailing the characteristics in player images that showed some level of promise, which was the most we could do for the jersey."
Current bidding on the jersey is up to $15.3 million, including buyer's premium, which would make it the most expensive sports item ever purchased at auction.
In order to qualify, it must meet its reserve, which is currently unknown. The reserve will post Aug. 20. The auction takes place three days later.
Darren Rovell is the founder of cllct.com and one of the country's leading reporters on the collectibles market. He previously worked for ESPN, CNBC and The Action Network.