Lou Gehrig’s final pinstripe Yankees jersey sold for $2,712,000 Wednesday afternoon at Christie’s, hitting the low end of the $2 million to $4 million pre-sale estimate.
The jersey was worn by Gehrig during Game 2 of the 1939 World Series, during which he sat on the bench, as he did for much of the latter half of his final season following his emotional farewell after announcing his ALS diagnosis in July.
The Yankees toppled the Reds in a four-game sweep, with Game 3 and Game 4 in Cincinnati, so Gehrig never donned the Yankees pinstripes again.
Considering the jersey does not typically fall under the category of game-worn, it can be debated as to its desirability and significance. Most would agree the most important Gehrig jersey, and, truthfully, among the most important jerseys in the history of sports, would be the one Gehrig wore during his “Luckiest Man” speech on July 4, 1939. Its current whereabouts are not publicly known, however references to a jersey attributed to that day appear in newspaper accounts from a 1999 auction at Leland’s.
The Gehrig sale highlighted the single-owner auction, held at Christie’s Rockefeller Center salesroom, of the collection of Dr. G.B. Espy, conducted in collaboration with Hunt Auctions.
Espy, considered one of the hobby’s most prolific and prominent collectors, accumulated pieces relating to everything from sports, culture and American history over the course of decades. A portion of his collection was sold in 2019 by Julien’s, including Babe Ruth’s 1938 Brooklyn Dodgers coaching uniform ($187,500), a Joe DiMaggio-Marilyn Monroe dual-signed baseball ($137,500) and Gehrig’s signed 1933 MLB contract ($131,250).
Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct, the premier company for collectible culture.