A baseball jersey worn by New York Yankees icon Babe Ruth between 1928 and 1930 sold for $5.64million (about R80m) - a record auction price for sports memorabilia - during Hunt Auctions’ recent Babe Ruth Collection auction at Yankee Stadium.
The previous record auction mark for sports memorabilia of $4.4m was set in 2012 by a 1920 Ruth jersey.
During his 15-year stint with the Yankees, Ruth helped the team win seven American League pennants and four World Series championships.
His big swing in the 1927 season produced a record 60 home runs and immeasurably boosted the sport’s popularity in the US.
Infamous for wild behaviour and heavy drinking off the field, The Big Bam died in 1948 at the age of 53. Ruth remains a part of American culture, and Donald Trump last year posthumously awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Nicknamed “The Bambino” and “The Sultan of Swat”, Ruth began his career as a left-handed pitcher for the Boston Red Sox.