Game-worn Mickey Mantle jerseys have sold at auctions for seven figures before, but one bidder has out swung all monetary precedents. The jersey Mantle wore for his final game on Sept. 28, 1968, sold for a record $2.19 million through Heritage Auctions on Saturday.
The next most expensive jersey of the New York Yankees legend sold for $1.32 million in August 2018.
Mantle hit one of his most famous home runs in his final jersey. On Sept. 19, 1968, Detroit Tigers star Denny McLain -- the season's eventual Cy Young winner and American League MVP -- gifted a batting-practice fastball to Mantle to help him pass Jimmie Fox on the all-time home run list with 535. Mantle finished his storied career with 536 home runs, the 18th most in MLB history.
The jersey's upper-chest area features the words, "To Tom, A Great Friend Always" in blue Sharpie because Mantle originally gifted it to Tom Catal, the president of the Mickey Mantle Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y.
"We've always known this was an incredibly special jersey, as 'The Mick' wore it when he hit his 535th home run and then signed it for a dear friend," Heritage Sports founder and president Chris Ivy said in a statement. "But when it was confirmed to be the very jersey he wore when he took his final swing as a New York Yankee, that's when it became something historic, as evidenced by the night's results."
Mantle played his entire 18-year career for the Yankees, winning three MVP awards and making 20 All-Star teams. The Baseball Hall of Famer led the Bronx Bombers to seven World Series wins and won the AL triple crown in 1956.
