THE PHOTO-MATCHED JERSEY FROM BASEBALL’S MOST STORIED HOME-RUN SEASON IS NOW THE MOST VALUABLE MARIS ITEM EVER SOLD AT AUCTION
By Intelligent Collector Staff
The uniform Roger Maris wore during one of the most mythic seasons in baseball history, the year he hit 61 home runs and rewrote the record books, sold for $1.586 million at Heritage Auctions on February 24, setting a new record for any Maris memorabilia ever offered at auction.
Photo-matched to multiple home-run games during the 1961 season, the pinstriped Yankees jersey and pants represent a milestone not only in baseball history, but in American popular culture. The result was the centerpiece of Heritage’s February 22–23 Winter Platinum Night Sports Catalog Auction, which realized $24.47 million across two days.
“This is one of the most iconic uniforms in the sport,” said Chris Ivy, Director of Sports Auctions at Heritage. “It’s a tangible reminder of a season when baseball was completely reimagined — when a record thought unbreakable was finally surpassed.”
In 1961, Maris broke Babe Ruth’s single-season home run record by hitting 61 homers over 162 games. But the achievement came with controversy. Then–commissioner Ford Frick declared that the record would only count without an asterisk if it was broken within the 154-game schedule Ruth had played, a caveat that clouded Maris’ accomplishment for decades.
For years, the uniform offered in this sale was on display at Yankee Stadium’s museum. Another jersey from that same season resides in Cooperstown. The record-setting $1.586 million result now puts Maris’ uniform in a new league, one that reflects how collectors continue to chase game-worn history from baseball’s most revered moments.
The sale also answers a question that passionate collectors and consignors often ask: Where is the best place to sell a piece of sports history?
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