9. Babe Ruth 1919 Contract ($996,000 or $1.24 million today)
Believe or not, this piece of contract was sold ten times the cost of signing Babe Ruth itself. This contract declares Boston Red Sox’s deal to sell Ruth to Yankees. This contract did a lot of things to a lot of parties. To Ruth, it meant new club and new start to his amazing career. To the Yankees, it meant $100,000 spent in exchange of one of the world’s all-time best. And to Red Sox fans, it was heartbreaking news.
But to Peter Siegel, it means the world. As the head of collectible items business, he knew what this contract means. So, when he heard it would hit the Sotheby’s auction house in 2005, he determined to take it home no matter how much it might have cost him.
$996,000 was how much it cost him. And it equals to $1.24 million today. But he said it was worth it. After all, he was willing to pay whatever price he needed to secure it.
The auction was short but intense. It lasted for fifteen minutes only. And after bid by bid, the crowd burst into cheers as the final hammer came down for Siegel. If you want to take a closer look at this five-page contract, you can go to his store, Gotta Have It Collectibles, in Manhattan where he displays it with pride.
