As the Babe Ruth “Called Shot” jersey crossed the auction block Sunday morning, resetting the record books with a $24.12 million result, the team at cllct started thinking: What other game-worn jerseys could surface and compete for the crown?
We compiled a list of jerseys that have never seen the light of day (or auction house). Every one of them would make serious waves if uncovered.
1. Jackie Robinson's Brooklyn Dodgers jersey from his MLB debut
It’s unquestionably the most significant athletic debut in American history. On April 15, 1947, Robinson broke the color barrier as he took the field in Brooklyn for the Dodgers, facing vitriol and racism with grace and bravery never seen before or since.
Considering the power of the moment and its resonance far beyond the realm of sports, it’s difficult to imagine a more important artifact from any sporting event.
A 1947 jersey from Robinson’s rookie season sold for $2.6 million in April 2018, though no statement of a tie to his debut was made in the listing.
2. Wilt Chamberlain's Philadelphia Warriors jersey from his 100-point game
Much like the Ruth “Called Shot,” plenty will argue Chamberlain’s 100-point game never occurred. This runs counter to the numerous pieces of memorabilia — namely tickets and programs — which derive from the March 2, 1962 game in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The official scoresheet, autographed by Chamberlain and exhibiting hand-written stats from the Philadelphia Warriors scorekeeper (yes, including Chamberlain’s 100 points) sold for $214,579 in 2019.
His jersey from the game is currently in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts. The closest artifact to the jersey, which would undoubtedly sell for leaps and bounds more than the record $4.9 million paid for his 1972 NBA Finals jersey, is the ball from the game.
After Chamberlain’s death, the ball — said to have been stolen by a kid after the game — hit the auction block in 2000, selling for more than $560,000. It was quickly pulled for authenticity concerns, only to sell again months later for just $67,000.
3. Michael Jordan's 1982 North Carolina jersey from the men’s NCAA championship game
Michael Jordan has a myriad of nicknames. MJ. Air Jordan. His Airness.
But when he hit the game-winning shot to lead North Carolina over Georgetown in the 1982 men's NCAA championship game, he wasn't even "Michael Jordan," just "Mike."
That 16-foot jumper with 17 seconds remaining sealed Dean Smith’s first title at North Carolina and introduced Jordan to a national audience.
A jersey from his sophomore season (1982-83), when he became a collegiate star, sold for $1.38 million at Heritage in 2021. Jordan's North Carolina lore is unquestionable, especially knowing he wore UNC shorts under his Chicago Bulls shorts, and thus, the moment when he entered college basketball immortality, has to be high on this list.
4. Babe Ruth's Red Sox jersey from his MLB debut
Considering his “Called Shot” jersey just sold for $24.1 million, it’s not a stretch to say any Ruth jersey would be top of mind right now.
But while iconic, there have been other Ruth jerseys that have sold before. Never before, publicly, has a Ruth Red Sox jersey sold. The most valuable of all of those would undoubtedly be his MLB debut.
The “Curse of the Bambino” haunted the city of Boston for nearly a century, after the Sox sold his rights to the Yankees in 1920. But before his legendary success in New York, Ruth was quite the pitcher for Boston.
On July 11, 1914, Ruth debuted for the Red Sox, giving up three earned runs across seven innings, in Boston's 4-3 victory over the Cleveland Naps (now Guardians).
Hank Aaron’s 1954 rookie jersey, which is not matched to his MLB debut, however, due to the limited number of jerseys worn at the time, could quite possibly be the same one worn in his first game, sold this weekend for $2.1 million — the most ever paid for an Aaron jersey.
If Robinson’s ever came to the market, it likely and absolutely should be No. 1, but it’s hard to argue against Ruth as No. 2.
5. LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers jersey from his NBA debut
There is no shortage of LeBron James game-worn jerseys that have hit the market. Especially in recent years, with the newly-formed partnership between the NBA and Sotheby’s, later career jerseys from The King have sold with some degree of regularity — though, of course, at a hefty price.
Even with that supply of game-worn LeBron jerseys appearing to dwarf those of others on this list, a precious few from early in his career have appeared publicly.
The earliest and most notable would be the one he wore as a high-schooler on the cover of Sports Illustrated in 2002 for the now-legendary “Chosen One” cover, which sold most recently for $512,000 in 2021.
Other early LeBron sales tend to lack adequate documentation. Once, purported to come from his first Summer League game, aided only by a letter of authenticity from an Orlando Magic executive, sold in 2020 for less than $50,000.
In 2020, Goldin Auctions offered what it called “the earliest LeBron James pro jersey ever offered,” matched by MeiGray to his fifth and eighth career games, however, it failed to sell.
A jersey from his Oct. 29, 2003, debut in Sacramento — one of the most hyped in NBA history and featured its own Nike commercial — would be the ultimate jersey fit for a King.
6. Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls jersey from his NBA debut
If we agree debut jerseys are often the holy grail, then it doesn’t take much explanation as to why Mr. Jordan’s first NBA jersey would make this list.
Prior to Ruth’s record sale this weekend, the distinction of most expensive jersey ever sold belonged to Jordan’s 1998 NBA Finals jersey from Game 1, which sold for $10.1 million.
How much more would a jersey from the very genesis of Jordan’s career be worth?
An interesting hint comes from Jordan’s signing-day jersey, which he held up for cameras during a press conference prior to his first NBA season. Julien’s sold the jersey for $320,000 in 2020. It then landed on fractional investment platform Rally, which sold it for $513,900 in January.
7. Jesse Owens' 1936 Team USA singlet
There had never been and likely will never be a single performance at the Olympics as profoundly impactful as that of Jesse Owens in 1936.
Adolf Hitler was in power in Nazi Germany, attempting to rid society of anyone but the Aryan race. In 1933 the Nazis’ sports office ordered all public athletic organizations to implement an “Aryans-only” policy, which caused worldwide outrage, as the 1936 Olympics had been awarded to Berlin in 1931.
While many wanted the U.S. to boycott the Olympics, Avery Brundage, president of the United States Olympic Committee, elected to compete, and simply wouldn’t bring Jewish athletes.
Nazi hate was not solely directed to Jews though. There were 18 African American athletes on the 1936 U.S. Olympic team, and all of them had to deal with competing in a country and a city in front of a nation prejudiced against them.
Owens blasted through every notion of “Aryan supremacy,” as he won four gold medals, and stood atop the Olympic podium in front of Hitler. Two of Owens’ four gold medals have sold, with the more expensive one selling for $1.46 million in 2013.
His uniform would surely cross the seven-figure threshold as well.
8. Tiger Woods' “Sunday Red” 1997 Masters sweater
It’s difficult to think of any more iconic fashion statement in sports than Tiger Woods wearing red on Sundays. Images of his victories while donning bold red garb are permanently etched in our minds.
And while his comeback in 2019 to capture golf’s most illustrious tournament is one of the all-time-great moments in sports, none will ever top Woods’ first Masters victory in 1997.
Saying Woods dominated the field is a massive understatement.
At just 22 years old, Woods won the tournament by 12 strokes, which still remains the record for the largest margin of victory in Masters history. And it is where “Sunday Red” became a national statement, in front of a television audience of $44 million.
9. Tom Brady's New England Patriots jersey from Super Bowl XXXVI
The most storied career in NFL history began with one of the most improbable Super Bowl wins ever.
But everything about Brady's NFL beginnings was highly improbable. You likely know the story: Drafted in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft, Brady was a long shot to make the team ... and expected to be nothing more than a backup to Pro Bowl QB Drew Bledsoe.
That all changed in Week 2 of the 2001 season, when Bledsoe was injured on a hit by Jets linebacker Mo Lewis. Brady took over and led the Patriots to an 11-5 record and an eventual Super Bowl berth against the defending champion St. Louis Rams.
Brady's Pats were two-touchdown underdogs, but they stunned the heavy favorites on Adam Vinatieri's field goal as time expired.
That upset produced the first of Brady's seven Super Bowl titles, including six in New England. The jersey from that Feb. 3, 2002, night in New Orleans, when title No. 1 was secured, would undoubtedly be an all-timer.
10. Wayne Gretzky's Edmonton Oilers jersey from his NHL debut
No list of greats would be complete without the man they literally call “The Great One.”
Gretzky’s Edmonton Oilers debut jersey would certainly be the most significant hockey sweater ever sold ... if it hasn’t already. In 2022, a Gretzky jersey from his rookie season sold for more than $325,000. It was photo-matched by MeiGray, which was able to match the jersey to an undated image believed to be taken during the 1979-80 NHL preseason.
If another image were to emerge capable of matching this jersey to Gretzky’s debut, or, if another jersey were to surface conclusively matched to that game, it would shatter sales figures of other key sweaters, such as the $715,120 paid for Gretzky’s last point jersey in 2023, or the $657,250 paid for Mike Eruzione’s “Miracle on Ice” jersey in 2013.
A previous version of this story reported that Chamberlain's jersey could not be located.
Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct.
Matt Liberman is a reporter and video producer for cllct.
Kevin Jackson is the Chief Content Office for cllct.