For all you sports nuts out there, one thing that is always fun to collect are certain pieces of memorabilia to show just how much you love and support a team. And while most of us have to resort to keeping a ticket from a big game to brag about being there, some people actually pony up some serious cash for rare collectibles that are one of a kind—and these are the most expensive pieces ever auctioned off.
5. Soccer Rules Book – $1.4 million
Like you’ll see with another piece on this list, the original rules of the game of soccer was auctioned and sold for $1.4 million in 2011. Handwritten in 1857, the world’s oldest club—Sheffield FC—put the piece up for one lucky fan to have. It includes many of the innovations the modern game still uses.
4. Honus Wagner Baseball Card – $2.8 million
Former MLB great Honus Wagner is often mentioned as one of the best infielders to ever play the game—and the T206 baseball card with him on it is one of the best items a fan can have. With anywhere between just 60 and 200 of these printed up, it’s no wonder it got auctioned off for $2.8 million a few years ago. Even more bizarre was how one was recently found, with an elderly woman seeing it while cleaning her attic.
3. Mark McGwire’s 70th Home Run Ball – $3 million
A MLB baseball costs about $7, but that doesn’t stop fans from going to great lengths in order to leave the ballpark with one via foul ball or home run. And if one of them is historic—as former single-season home run king Mark McGwire’s was back in 1998—someone will pay a large amount of money for it. And that’s what a collector did, dropping a cool $3 million to have the historic item.
2. James Naismith’s Founding Rules of Basketball – $4.3 million
Ever wonder what it would be like to actually invent a sport? Sure, kids take variations of other activities and mesh them together in the backyard or on the playground, but only a few people have actually put together basic rules and regulations for one. One of those people is James Naismith, who, in 1891, invented the game of basketball. Writing his thoughts down, Naismith’s original document sold for $4.3 million a few years ago.
1. Babe Ruth’s 1920 Yankees Jersey – $4.4 million
Regarded as the earliest known jersey ever worn by Babe Ruth, the price that SCP Auctions spent on it back in 2012 is just absurd. Ruth is highly regarded as the greatest power hitter in baseball history, and landing his first ever jersey is something that brings both bragging rights and history.
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