Roger Maris’ Game-Worn Jersey From Historic 1961 Season Expected To Fetch Big Money At Auction
David Boss-Imagn Images 2025 is turning out the be a big year in the world of Major League Baseball memorabilia. First, there was the 11-year-old pulling a Paul Skenes rookie card and selling it for over one million dollars, and now we’ve got a game-worn jersey from Roger Maris’ 1961 season in which he smacked 61 home runs to set the single season record up for sale. Not only did Roger Maris set the record in 1961, a record that stood until 1998, it was also the subject of MAJOR controversy at the time and for years to come. Baseball “purists” back then thought that Maris should have had to hit home run number 61 in 154 games to officially surpass Babe Ruth’s record of 60. Never mind the fact that Maris hit home run number 61 in 698 plate appearances and Ruth hit his 60 home runs in 1927 in 691 plate appearances. The “purists” just didn’t want to see the Babe get surpassed by a guy they didn’t particularly like. The jersey that is going up for auction on April 21 and conclude on May 2 is the one that Roger Maris wore in the game where he hit his 59th home run of the season during the third inning off Milt Pappas on September 20 in Baltimore. Interestingly, this jersey was also recently auctioned off in 2022, selling for $244,240. What makes this jersey extra special, however, is that Maris hit that 59th home run in what is now referred to as the “asterisk game.” It was the 154th game played by the Yankees that year – the same number of games that the Babe’s Yankees played in 1927. It took Maris until the Yankees’ 162nd game to break the record. Sotheby’s, which is conducting the auction of the jersey, has an estimated final bid listed as between $1 million and $2 million this time around. (Paul Skenes’ rookie card sold for $1.1 million.) “Importantly, to Sotheby’s knowledge, this is the jersey closest to his record tying 60, or record breaking 61st home run, that has become available to the public. This jersey thus represents an exceedingly rare opportunity to acquire a direct link to one of the most dramatic individual pursuits in sports history,” Sotheby’s writes in the auction’s description. “Further adding to its significance, Maris also wore this very jersey during Game 6 of the 1960 World Series, an emphatic Yankees victory that led to one of the most dramatic World Series finishes in history.” According to The Athletic, the high estimated final auction price for the jersey, compared to what it sold for in 2022, is because in February, a full Maris 1961 home uniform that was photomatched to the games in which he hit home runs 29, 30, 46, 52, and 53 sold for $1.586 million.