Babe Ruth’s 1918 Red Sox Contract Sells for Record $1.02 Million

Babe Ruth’s 1918 contract with the Boston Red Sox sold at auction for $1.02 million, more than 200 times his salary for that season, when he won a World Series title and began to make the transition from pitcher to slugger.

Ruth, who made his Major League Baseball debut with the Red Sox 100 years ago, signed a contract for $5,000 during the 1918 season -- a raise from his $3,500 salary in 1917. The contract, signed by Ruth, Red Sox owner H.H. Frazee and American League president Ban Johnson, was sold July 12 in Baltimore by Goldin Auctions and the Babe Ruth Birthplace & Sports Museum to an undisclosed buyer.