Mickey Mantle jersey from 1952-53 World Series sells for $3 million

The legend of the Mick lives on, this time to the tune of $3 million.

A jersey worn by Mickey Mantle in the 1952 World Series was sold for that price Friday night at Heritage Auctions, falling short of its $4 million estimate. The record for any Mantle jersey is $4.68 million.

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The backstory of the jersey is almost as impressive as Mantle's performance in the Game 7 clincher for the Yankees in that '52 Series.

One day in 1955, a box arrived at a children’s home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It was sent by the Yankees, full of road uniforms from their stars. Names such as Yogi Berra, Billy Martin, Casey Stengel and, of course, Mickey Mantle.

Bob Payne, a 15-year-old resident of the home, considered Mantle a hero and tried to get his hands on the jersey. It was quickly claimed by another boy instead. Payne used his money earned from milking the cows at the home to buy the jersey.

He paid $2.50.

As the years passed, Payne kept the jersey without much thought — other than the time he tried it on for himself (it was too big). It wasn’t until he heard about a Mantle gamer selling for $33,000 that he realized he was holding the sports memorabilia equivalent of gold bars.

Payne soon placed it in a safety deposit vault and began exploring his options. According to a 1993 article in the Winston-Salem Journal, he had estimated it to be worth between $150,000 and $200,000 at the time.

“I feel so extremely fortunate to have this shirt,” Payne was quoted in another article. “I put it on my back one time and I never will again. I want to do something worthwhile with it, and I have no intentions of selling it.”

Times change.

The jersey was able to be photo-matched to both the 1952 and 1953 World Series, which included Mantle's only Fall Classic grand slam. Jerseys were frequently reused in multiple seasons during that era, so it was common to see the same threads across multiple years.

Jerseys from players of that time are extremely rare. Not only because there were very few made to begin with, but also due to the fact it was standard for equipment managers to recycle MLB players’ jerseys for minor-league teams, sewing on new numbers and severing the tie to its original owner.

Of all Mantle jerseys to hit the auction block, this is the earliest to sell accompanied by photo-match documentation.

Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct.

Mickey Mantle jersey from 1952-53 World Series sells for $3 million

Game-worn jersey was once purchased by a 15-year-old boy for $2.50