Ruth’s ‘called shot’ jersey poised to become the most expensive sports collectible
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Dan Hajducky, ESPN
CLEVELAND — Up close, the front and back of Babe Ruth’s faded, gray flannel New York Yankees jersey is peppered with stains. A felt, navy “NEW YORK” arches across the front, a lone No. 3 is affixed on the back. The name “Ruth G.H” is embroidered in red thread inside the collar. Earlier this year, a process that matches archival photographs with those details was used to pinpoint the jersey to Game 3 of the 1932 World Series — Ruth’s legendary “called shot” game — and set it on course to break the record paid for a sports collectible.
Advertised by Heritage Auctions as the “1932 Babe Ruth Game Worn New York Yankees World Series ‘Called Shot’ Jersey,” bidding for Lot No. 80162 opened at $7.5 million and on Friday stood at $15.1 million — and with a standard 20% buyer’s premium, the amount is $18.12 million. The auction is scheduled to close Sunday.
Chris Ivy, director of sports auctions for Heritage Auctions, which is brokering the sale, told ESPN in May that he wouldn’t be surprised if the Ruth jersey exceeds $30 million. In July, at the 44th National Sports Collectors Convention in Cleveland, Ivy said the amount could rise even beyond that area.
The anticipated sale price of the jersey, which previously sold at auction in 2005 for $940,000, has skyrocketed amid a game-used memorabilia market boom fueled by an authentication process called photo-matching. Long used for art and collectibles such as vintage guitars, the use of photo-matching for game-used memorabilia — attempting to match idiosyncratic details of bats, jerseys, cleats or other objects according to details seen in historical photos — can significantly increase the market price.
A Babe Ruth bat that wasn’t photo-matched sold with Heritage for $400,800 in 2018. Last year, Henry Yee, a photo expert with Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA), a card grading company and autograph/memorabilia authenticator, matched the bat to photos from 1921, when Ruth set single-season and career home run records. It soon sold for $1.85 million with Hunt Auctions, still a record for a baseball bat.
In 2021, 44% of the 25 most expensive pieces of memorabilia were photo-matched, according to Altan Insights, a company that provides data and quantitative analysis to help investors understand the collectibles market. By 2023, the figure rose to 92%. Across sports collecting, the growth of and reliance upon photo-matching has mirrored an industry trend toward acquisition of game-used items. Experts say photo-matching isn’t just a convenient step beyond verification or a tool that leads to higher auction yields. In an industry rife with fraud, they say it’s a necessary measure, giving prospective buyers a greater degree of confidence in the authenticity of items they’re seeking to purchase.
But the process of photo-matching has limitations, and companies don’t always agree on what their teams see. Even for the Ruth jersey, one company did not definitively photo-match the item.
So how does photo-matching work and how foolproof is the process? Top-dollar memorabilia usually is authenticated and matched by multiple companies, often competitors. What if they disagree? Those are the kinds of questions that have surfaced around the Ruth jersey auction — and the stakes are high, as collectors attempt to navigate a shifting sports collectibles market that industry analysts project could reach into the hundreds of billions within the next decade.
PHOTO-MATCHERS CLOSELY examine unique markings such as stitching, fabric frays, stains or imperfections on memorabilia, comparing those details against archive photos in an effort to pinpoint where the item was used and its significance.
Companies such as Resolution Photomatching rely on checks and balances. People hired to do the job train four to six weeks before working on a single item, and they use a three-round system: one researcher utilizes databases to screen images that might include the item; another checks those flagged images; a third makes a call. Resolution often pores through tens of thousands of images per photo-match.
“The IRS doesn’t have photo-matching as a [job] classification yet,” said John Robinson, owner and founder of Resolution, “so their official classifications are ‘historians.’ One of our researchers’ young daughters called him a ‘sports history detective.’ That might be the best description.”
In the case of the Ruth jersey, as with other sports memorabilia on the market, provenance plays a vital role in verifying an item’s authenticity. In the early 1990s, a woman in Port St. Lucie, Florida, called Grey Flannel Auctions about a jersey she had found in a safe deposit box with “Ruth G.H” sewn on its collar. Ruth was a fixture on Florida golf courses after retiring in 1935. After a round with the woman’s father, Ruth purportedly ceded the jersey.
It was sold privately twice as a 1930s road Ruth jersey before a public auction with Grey Flannel in 2005 more definitively pinned it to the 1932 World Series. The description noted: “Not one of these experts can definitively say that it is not Babe Ruth’s 1932 World Series jersey.”
That year’s World Series between the Yankees and the Chicago Cubs became famous for Ruth’s supposed “called shot,” which occurred during the fifth inning of Game 3. With the score tied 4-4, Ruth stepped to the plate at Wrigley Field and pointed; whether he intended to point at pitcher Charlie Root, to the Cubs’ dugout or to the outfield remains a historical uncertainty. But on a Root curveball, Ruth hit a home run an estimated 440 feet to center.
“There wasn’t anything ironclad that definitively linked it to the ‘called shot’ until recently,” Ivy said. “A lot of information has come out in the last 20 years — new imagery, footage, photographs — things that could be used to potentially make that connection. Authentication is extremely important.”
Ivy confirmed that a New Jersey man bought the jersey in 2005 and kept it until now.
“But we don’t want to just rely on our in-house experts,” he said. “We want impartial third parties to evaluate the material — not only because we stand behind everything we sell, but the more confidence bidders have, the more they’re willing to bid.”
In a 2024 letter registering the Ruth jersey photo-match, MeiGray Authenticated said the jersey was photo-matched to two Getty Images pictures and a photo from the Chicago Daily News “showing Ruth standing at the dugout with Lou Gehrig and Joe McCarthy.” The letter said the photos were taken Oct. 1, 1932, before and during Game 3 of the World Series at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
The authentication company PSA grades on average 40,000 cards a day and boasts roughly a 75% market share. In February, PSA began offering photo-matching within PSA/DNA, its memorabilia authentication division. According to PSA president Ryan Hoge, the Ruth jersey is PSA’s first photo-matched object to come to auction.
Steve Stindt, general manager of PSA/DNA, said provenance goes only so far.
“You can have a nice letter from somebody’s great grandpappy who got the jersey from so-and-so and it’s been in their family, right?” Stindt said. “At the end of the day, it’s not a court of law. [Photo-matching] is definitive, collectors have been asking for it and it’s good business for us. We’re showing the item in our hand, taking an image of it, spotting it in a photograph of the player wearing that same item, pointing out unique characteristics in each.”
Having a legitimate photo-matching service was a direct response to the recent growth of the game-used market, according to Stindt. The photo-matching process isn’t in lieu of verification, it’s a step beyond, Hoge said: “Yes, it’s real … and here’s why we think it is tied to a specific game or event.”
On top of image libraries it has access to, PSA boasts a catalogue of thousands of previously authenticated original photographs. MeiGray, which said it has a contract with Getty Images, offers a lifetime warranty and letter of authenticity for items. The company has provided photo-matching for three of the top five game-used memorabilia sales ever.
“This jersey [as reported prior] is supposed to be from the ’32 Series, so that’s where we started,” said Jim Montague of MeiGray’s authentication team. “We researched seasons before, seasons after to make sure we’re seeing unique differences.”
The company looked into how many uniforms the New York Yankees ordered, said Barry Meisel, president and COO of MeiGray.
“The Yankees ordered three road grays and three home whites over an entire year, carried one over into the following year,” Meisel said. “[We looked at] the nuances of where the manufacturer — in this case, Spalding — put its company tag. This is a road gray, so, it doesn’t have pinstripes. So you determine: Could this have been worn in ’32? Where are the buttons placed, the placket? Where’s the Y stitched?”
How the “Y” was positioned in the front of the jersey in relationship to the buttons and placket was unique, Montague told ESPN in May. Thanks to archival photographs, MeiGray had a Game 3 close-up that revealed “little nuances in the ‘N’ that also stood out.” It also sourced photographs from Chicago newspapers and museums.
“There’s a small little notch, almost where the ‘N’ wasn’t completely straight [and] the top of the ‘W’ had this curve as opposed to a flat edge — other images, we saw a flat edge,” Montague said. “The ‘E’ had this bend in it at the bottom of it that was sort of different. [There] were seamstresses stitching the names, numbers, the names in the collar, all by hand. They’re not doing it the same two times in a row [so] all these things together lined up, had us very confident this was the shirt.”
Ivy and Heritage took the jersey to Wrigley Field, where Cubs players and employees viewed it. Ivy said Cody Bellinger and Drew Smyly were particularly curious about the photo-matching process.
“They thought the fat strap was interesting,” Ivy said. “How the jersey had straps to keep it tucked in while Ruth was playing.”
MeiGray provided approval on the Ruth jersey in April. Another company, End-to-End, had photo-matched it in 2022. (End-to-End was founded by Blake Panarisi, who became PSA’s photo-matching lead in February; PSA also photo-matched the Ruth jersey in May.) But on the eve of the collectibles conference in Cleveland in late July, the media site cllct.com reported controversy over the Ruth jersey. Its owner had submitted it to Resolution Photomatching three times with a “no match” result.
Resolution published a statement that read, in part, that it was the first company to research the jersey in 2019, and that the jersey was resubmitted in 2021 and 2022. “We would have loved nothing more than to have been able to call the jersey a ResMatch,” the statement read. “We passed up a very significant amount of money” in not doing so. The statement did note promising signs and that some characteristics of the jersey seemed to be “approximately the same” as in images, but there wasn’t enough for a match.
Robinson, the owner and founder of Resolution, said that for the company to photo-match an item, it “must see characteristics that are definitively identical and definitively unique.
“While we are always incentivized to make a ResMatch determination,” Robinson said, “we are unwavering in those criteria no matter the magnitude of the piece. In the situation with that piece, it is the latest of many examples that Resolution has the highest standards in photo-matching.”
Resolution works with Heritage often. A Walter Johnson jersey that hadn’t been photo-matched sold at auction for $352,000 in 2006. In May, Resolution pegged the jersey to a game from April 29, 1920, the first time Johnson faced Babe Ruth in a Yankees jersey. The jersey sold for $2.01 million. A not-photo-matched Magic Johnson jersey, circa 1980-85, sold for $10,285 with Infinite Auctions in 2019. Two years later, Resolution matched it to the clinching Game 6 of the 1980 NBA Finals and it sold for $1.5 million with Heritage. A 1958 Mickey Mantle jersey, which sold for $240,000 in 2021 before photo-matching, resold last August for $4.68 million with Heritage, making it one of the most expensive sports jerseys ever, after Resolution matched it to the 1958 season, including Opening Day.
“If that company had reasons that it did not believe that our work was accurate, it would have raised them,” Meisel said. “It did not. I don’t know if that company had all of the research we had. I respect everybody’s work, but in this case, we stand by our photo-match 100%.”
Heritage has provided documentation for Ruth bidders, including an April 2019 letter from Resolution to the New Jersey consignor stating: “In our opinion, the alignment of the buttons and seam with the custom stitched ‘Y’ in the ‘New York’ lettering on the front of the jersey appear to be approximately the same on the jersey worn by Ruth in multiple images analyzed as compared to the jersey presented to us.”
SOME OF THE most famed and expensive pieces of sports memorabilia, including autographed items, are steeped in muddy waters. Ruth, with his stature and the historical significance of his items, has been among the sports industry’s most forged. His secretary also signed for him.
Fraud can be difficult to spot, and advances in technology and the use of artificial intelligence have raised the prospect of additional challenges.
“I wouldn’t say they’re using AI yet, but eventually they will, it’s going to happen in every aspect of our lives,” said James Spence III, vice president of James Spence Authentication (JSA). “Right now, [forgers] are programming signatures into auto-pen machines. These machines have existed for well over 75 years, astronauts had them, presidents used to have them, major political figures — they would basically sign fan mail and mass quantity signatures.”
Brian Dwyer, president of Robert Edward Auctions (REA), said the company does vetting on the front end before items are even consigned.
“Sometimes when we take in memorabilia, it isn’t a question of if it’s real or not, it’s, ‘Has it been restored? Is there something hidden? Is there a repair?'” Dwyer said. “[That’s why] photo-matching is an exciting part of the hobby, still in the early stages. As these companies utilize technology, as more archives become available and the process gets refined, we’ll unlock a whole new realm of secrets.”
JSA, owned by grader and authenticator Certified Collectibles Group, doesn’t use AI to verify or match yet, but Spence and other authenticators say it’s imminent.
A representative from the FBI’s art crimes team said the agency works with authenticators and auction houses to identify problems such as forgery early, but with the boom in collecting, the potential for fraud follows. The FBI told ESPN that consumers have to put the kind of research into collectibles that they do when buying a house or car.
WITH GROWTH IN the game-used arena and projections that the collectibles market will hit hundreds of billions, business owners such as Michael Rubin, founder and CEO of Fanatics, are buying companies like Topps and auction arms like PWCC Marketplace, which has been rebranded as Fanatics Collect.
“We only started selling trading cards 2½ years ago,” Rubin said, with NBA and NFL trading card rights imminent in 2025 and 2026, respectively. “I’m going to do this for the rest of my life, so we’ve got many decades to do this.”
Ken Goldin, founder of collectibles marketplace Goldin and star of the Netflix show “King of Collectibles,” said photo-matching enhances an item’s value beyond getting something directly from an athlete.
“Take a [game-used] Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls jersey and it comes with, say, third-party authentication — not photo-matched — maybe that jersey is $30,000 [to] $50,000,” Goldin said. “Let’s say you have a letter from Jordan’s teammate who says, ‘I was handed this jersey personally by Michael after a game,’ and it’s a trusted teammate? That’s going to add 50% to 75% to the value. But if you took that jersey, with the authentication, the letter, and photo-matched it to a specific game? It almost doesn’t matter what game it is. Jordan could’ve scored 16 points or they lost … it’s instantly a $500,000 jersey.”
Collector Rob Gough, who purchased a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card for a then-record $5.2 million in January 2021, said he has shifted his focus and spent nearly $30 million on game-used memorabilia in the past year.
“Photo-matching is extremely important,” Gough said. “I want [items] matched, ideally by multiple companies, too.”
Gough bought Wilt Chamberlain’s rookie year uniform; the jersey Wayne Gretzky scored his final point in; a Kobe Bryant jersey from Game 1 of the 2010 NBA Finals, his last; Victor Wembanyama’s first NBA jersey from summer league. Gough notes that Heritage has a 1951 game-worn Jackie Robinson jersey up for auction, currently at $2.82 million.
“But it’s not photo-matched,” Gough said. “So, for me, it’s just a nonstarter. I’m out.”
Alijah Arenas, son of Gilbert Arenas, will suit up for the USC Trojans next season.
The five-star, 6-foot-6 guard from Southern California announced his decision on Thursday. He picked the Trojans over his father’s alma mater, the Arizona Wildcats, while also receiving offers from the Kansas Jayhawks, Louisville Cardinals and Kentucky Wildcats. He reclassified in December from the class of 2026 to 2025.
Here is a look at the most successful father-son combos in sports history.
Multiple sports
Deion Sanders/Deion Sanders Jr./Shilo Sanders/Shedeur Sanders
Father’s accomplishments: Deion played 14 seasons in the NFL. He was drafted No. 5 overall in 1989 by the Atlanta Falcons after being named a two-time All-American at Florida State. Sanders was named a Pro Bowler eight times, with 53 interceptions throughout his career and two Super Bowl wins. He also played nine seasons of professional baseball for the Atlanta Braves, New York Yankees, Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants. He famously played in a game for the Falcons against the Miami Dolphins, then immediately flew to Pittsburgh to dress for his baseball game with the Braves against the Pirates in the NLCS. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011.
How his sons followed: Deion Sanders Jr. was a two-star athlete in the 2012 class, signing with SMU as a wide receiver and kick returner. As a sophomore kick returner, Sanders Jr. was named a second-team All-American Athletic Conference selection. Shilo was the No. 287-ranked prospect in the 2019 class and signed as a cornerback with South Carolina.
Shilo and Shedeur were coached by their father during their college football seasons with the Jackson State Tigers and Colorado Buffaloes.
MLB
Ken Griffey Sr./Ken Griffey Jr.
Father’s accomplishments: Ken Griffey Sr. played 19 seasons in the major leagues, mostly with the Cincinnati Reds. He was part of the Big Red Machine that won World Series titles in 1975 and 1976. Griffey Sr. was a three-time All-Star and finished his career with a .296 batting average, 152 home runs and 859 RBIs. He was named the Most Valuable Player of the 1980 All-Star Game and has been inducted into the Reds Hall of Fame.
How his son followed: Ken Griffey Jr. also had a long career, playing 22 seasons in the big leagues, including 13 with the Seattle Mariners and nine with Cincinnati. Griffey Jr. was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2016. He is seventh all time with 630 career home runs, was a 13-time All-Star and won 10 Gold Gloves for his play in center field. He was the American League MVP in 1997 and led the AL in home runs four times during his career.
In 1990, Griffey Sr. and Griffey Jr., both playing for the Mariners, made history when they became the first father-son duo to hit back-to-back home runs in a game.
Bobby Bonds/Barry Bonds
Father’s accomplishments: Bobby Bonds played the majority of his 14 seasons with the San Francisco Giants and became just the second player to hit 300 career home runs and steal 300 bases, joining Willie Mays. He set records for most times leading off a game with a home run in a season (11) and in a career (35) — both of which have since been broken. Bonds was a three-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove winner.
How his son followed: Barry Bonds played 22 seasons, mostly with the Giants, and was a seven-time National League MVP. Bonds holds the records for most career home runs, with 762, and most home runs in a season, with 73. He was a 14-time All-Star, 12-time Silver Slugger Award winner and eight-time Gold Glove Award winner. Bonds tied his father for the most seasons with 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases, with five. He also holds the MLB records for walks (2,558) and intentional walks (688) in a career.
Sandy Alomar/Roberto Alomar/Sandy Alomar Jr.
Father’s accomplishments: Sandy Alomar Sr. competed in 15 seasons and could play all infield and outfield positions. He was an All-Star in 1970 and played a full 162-game season that year and in 1971. Alomar Sr. was a talented bunter and aggressive on the base paths, totaling 227 stolen bases in his career, including 39 in 1971.
How his sons followed: Twelve-time All-Star Roberto Alomar was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2011. He won World Series championships with the Toronto Blue Jays in 1992 and 1993. He won more Gold Gloves (10) than any other second baseman and finished his 17-year career with a .300 batting average, 2,724 hits and 210 home runs. Sandy Alomar Jr. was the first rookie catcher to start an All-Star Game, and he won Rookie of the Year and a Gold Glove Award in 1990. Alomar Jr. was named an All-Star six times during his 20-year career and had a 30-game hitting streak in 1997.
Cecil Fielder/Prince Fielder
Father’s accomplishments: Cecil Fielder was a three-time All-Star and won a World Series title with the New York Yankees in 1996. In 1990, he was the first player since George Foster in 1977 to hit at least 50 home runs in a season. Fielder led the American League in home runs in 1990 and 1991 and in RBIs from 1990 to ’92. He hit 319 career home runs, recorded 1,008 RBIs and was a two-time winner of the Silver Slugger Award.
How his son followed: Fielder was the youngest player (23) to hit 50 home runs in a season. Prince Fielder was a six-time All-Star and won the Home Run Derby twice — once as an NL All-Star and once as an AL All-Star. He totaled 319 career home runs, the same number as his father, and drove in 1,028 runs. Fielder was a three-time Silver Slugger Award winner and the AL Comeback Player of the Year in 2015.
Cecil and Prince Fielder are the only father-son duo to each hit 50 home runs in a season.
Vladimir Guerrero/Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Father’s accomplishments: Guerrero spent 16 seasons playing in the MLB for the Montreal Expos, Anaheim Angels, Texas Rangers and the Baltimore Orioles. He was a nine-time All-Star, the 2004 American League MVP and an eight-time winner of the Silver Slugger award. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2018 and finished his career with 2,590 hits.
How his son followed: Guerrero Jr. signed with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2015 and made his major league debut in 2019. He hit 48 home runs in the 2021 season and became the second father-son duo to hit 40 home runs in a season, joining Prince and Cecil Fielder in accomplishing that feat. Guerrero has since been a four-time All-Star and a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger winner for the Blue Jays.
NBA
LeBron James/Bronny James
Father’s accomplishments: LeBron James is still going strong in his 22nd NBA season. He’s the league’s all-time scoring leader and eclipsed 40,000 points last season. LeBron has won four NBA championships and made an NBA-record 20 straight All-Star appearances.
How his sons followed: The Los Angeles Lakers selected Bronny James with the No. 55 pick in the 2024 NBA draft, pairing him with his dad, LeBron, in the NBA. The two appeared in a game together in October 2024, becoming the first father-son duo to do so in NBA history. Bronny is expected to split time between the Lakers and their G-League affiliate. Bryce, LeBron’s youngest son, committed to Arizona in January as part of the Wildcats’ 2025 class.
Dell Curry/Stephen Curry/Seth Curry
Father’s accomplishments: Dell Curry retired as the Charlotte Hornets‘ career scoring leader (9,839 points) and ranked first in 3-pointers made (929). Curry was named NBA Sixth Man of the Year in 1994 and averaged 11.7 points and 2.4 rebounds per game in his 16-year career.
How his sons followed: Stephen Curry has led the Golden State Warriors to four NBA championships and been named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player twice. Curry is a 10-time All-Star and was the NBA scoring champion in 2016 and 2021. He holds the NBA record for most made 3-pointers in a regular season, with 402, and most consecutive regular-season games with a made 3-pointer, with 268. Seth Curry was a two-time NBA D-League All-Star and has spent time with several NBA teams. He averaged 12.8 points over 70 games in 2016-17 with the Dallas Mavericks.
Doc Rivers/Austin Rivers
Father’s accomplishments: As a player, Doc Rivers was known for his defense, but he averaged a double-double during the 1986-87 season, with 12.8 points and 10.0 assists per game. He was an NBA All-Star in 1988 and played with four teams during his 13-year career. Rivers was named Coach of the Year in 2000 with the Orlando Magic and led the Boston Celtics to an NBA title as their coach in 2008. He was the head coach of the LA Clippers from 2013-2020 and Philadelphia 76ers from 2020-2023. He was announced as the Milwaukee Bucks head coach in January 2024.
How his son followed: In 2015, Austin Rivers was traded to the Clippers and became the first NBA player to play for his father. Rivers has averaged 9.2 points per game in his seven-year career, including 15.1 PPG in 2017-18 with the Clippers. He then played for the Wizards, Rockets, Knicks, Nuggets and the Timberwolves.
Mychal Thompson/Klay Thompson
Father’s accomplishments: Mychal Thompson, the No. 1 pick in the 1978 NBA draft, won back-to-back NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1987 and ’88. Thompson was on the All-Rookie team in 1979 and went on to average 13.7 points and 7.4 rebounds per game in his career. He averaged a double-double in 1981-82, with 20.8 points and 11.7 rebounds per game.
How his son followed: Klay Thompson won four NBA championships with the Golden State Warriors. Mychal and Klay Thompson became just the fourth father-son duo to each win an NBA title as a player and the first to each win back-to-back championships. Klay is a five-time All-Star, was named to the All-Rookie team in 2012 and won the 3-point contest in 2016. He holds the NBA playoff record for most 3-pointers made in a game, with 11.
Joe “Jellybean” Bryant/Kobe Bryant
Father’s accomplishments: Joe “Jellybean” Bryant played eight seasons in the NBA before heading to Europe and playing seven seasons with teams in Italy. He scored 53 points in a game twice during the 1987-88 season with Pistoia. Bryant played into his 50s, suiting up for the American Basketball Association.
How his son followed: Five-time NBA champion Kobe Bryant is fourth in career scoring, with 33,643 points. He played 20 seasons for the Lakers and was named an All-Star 18 times. Bryant was named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player in 2008 and the Finals MVP in 2009 and ’10. He was the NBA scoring champion in 2006 and ’07 and was named to the All-NBA first team 11 times and the All-Defensive first team nine times. Kobe had both his No. 8 and his No. 24 retired by the Lakers.
NFL
Archie Manning/Peyton Manning/Eli Manning
Father’s accomplishments: Archie Manning was a quarterback in the NFL for 13 seasons, mostly with the New Orleans Saints. Despite never leading a team to a winning record, Manning made the Pro Bowl in 1978 and ’79. He threw for 125 touchdowns and rushed for 18 during his career. He has been inducted into the Saints’ Ring of Honor and the Saints’ Hall of Fame.
How his sons followed: Peyton Manning was the first pick in the 1998 NFL draft and holds the NFL records for career passing yards (71,940) and passing touchdowns (539). He is the only starting quarterback to win a Super Bowl for two franchises. A 14-time Pro Bowler, Manning was named the NFL’s Most Valuable Player five times and a first-team All-Pro seven times.
Eli Manning was the first pick in the 2004 NFL draft and led the New York Giants to two Super Bowl titles, earning Super Bowl MVP honors both times. He is a four-time Pro Bowler, ranks sixth in passing yards in NFL history and started 210 consecutive games from 2004 to 2017, the second-longest streak by a quarterback in NFL history.
Howie Long/Chris Long/Kyle Long
Father’s accomplishments: Eight-time Pro Bowl selection Howie Long played his entire 13-year career with the Raiders organization. The defensive end helped the Raiders win the Super Bowl in 1984, and he was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1985. Long finished his career with 84 sacks and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000. He also made 10 fumble recoveries and two interceptions during his time in the NFL.
How his sons followed: Chris Long was the No. 2 pick in the 2008 NFL draft and won back-to-back Super Bowls — with the New England Patriots in 2017 and the Philadelphia Eagles in 2018. The defensive end recorded 70 sacks in his 11-year career.
Kyle Long, a three-time Pro Bowl selection, was a guard for the Chicago Bears. He was a second-team All-Pro in 2014 and made the All-Rookie team in 2013.
He returned from his 2019 retirement with a one-year stint with the Kansas City Chiefs for the 2021 season but did not play due to injuries.
Clay Matthews Jr./Clay Matthews III/Casey Matthews
Father’s accomplishments: Clay Matthews Jr. played 19 seasons in the NFL, mostly with the Cleveland Browns. He appeared in 278 games, the most by a linebacker, and recorded 1,561 tackles, 69.5 sacks and 16 interceptions in his career. Matthews was a four-time Pro Bowler and was first-team All-Pro in 1984, recording 12 sacks that season.
How his sons followed: Clay Matthews III, a six-time Pro Bowler, helped the Green Bay Packers to a Super Bowl title after the 2010 season. The linebacker was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2010 and totaled 91.5 sacks, 17 forced fumbles and six interceptions in his 11-year career.
Linebacker Casey Matthews played from 2011 to ’14 for the Philadelphia Eagles and recorded 2.5 sacks.
Christian McCaffrey/Ed McCaffrey
Father’s accomplishments: Ed McCaffrey’s 13-year NFL career included three Super Bowl wins and one Pro Bowl appearance. He earned 7,422 receiving yards and notched 55 receiving touchdowns, a majority of which came with the Denver Broncos. Ed McCaffrey played a key role in the Broncos winning back-to-back championships in 1997 and 1998.
How his son followed: A highly touted recruit out of Stanford, Christian McCaffrey has lived up to the hype in the NFL. In his eighth season, the running back has rushed for 6,224 career yards and 52 touchdowns, including a league-leading 1,459 yards in 2023, when he earned Offensive Player of the Year honors.
NHL
Bobby Hull/Brett Hull
Father’s accomplishments: Bobby Hull received the Hart Memorial Trophy twice as the NHL’s most valuable player and earned the Art Ross Trophy three times as the NHL’s leading points scorer. The left wing won the Stanley Cup in 1961 with the Chicago Blackhawks and was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1983. Hull led the NHL in goals seven times and was the second-leading goal scorer in NHL history, with 610, when he retired. Hull won back-to-back All-Star Game MVP awards in 1970 and ’71.
How his son followed: Brett Hull scored 741 goals in his career, the fourth-highest total in NHL history. The right wing won Stanley Cups in 1999 with the Dallas Stars (including scoring the championship-winning goal) and in 2002 with the Detroit Red Wings. Hull scored at least 50 goals in five consecutive seasons, and his 86 goals in 1990-91 are the third most in a season in NHL history. He was named the NHL’s MVP that season and received the Hart Memorial Trophy. Hull was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2009, joining his father to become the first father-son duo in the Hall.
Keith Tkachuk/Matthew Tkachuk/Brady Tkachuk
Father’s accomplishments: Keith was selected 19th overall in the 1990 NHL draft and played for 18 years with four different teams. He finished his career with 527 goals and 1,065 points. At the time that he scored his 500th goal, he was just the fourth American-born player to achieve that milestone and was the sixth American-born player with 1,000 points.
How his sons followed: Matthew was selected sixth in the 2016 NHL draft by the Calgary Flames but has since been traded to the Florida Panthers, where he helped lead the team to a 2024 Stanley Cup title.
Brady was taken with the fourth pick in the 2018 draft by the Ottawa Senators. He was named the team’s captain in 2021 and has scored 171 regular-season goals in his career.
Auto racing
Dale Earnhardt/Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Father’s accomplishments: Dale Earnhardt won 76 Winston Cup races, including the 1998 Daytona 500. Earnhardt claimed seven NASCAR Winston Cup championships, tying Richard Petty for the most all time. It was 22 years before Jimmie Johnson matched the accomplishment in 2016. Earnhardt died as a result of a collision on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500 and was posthumously inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame inaugural class in 2010.
How his son followed: Dale Earnhardt Jr. won 26 Cup series races, including the Daytona 500 twice (2004, 2014). He had 260 top-10 finishes in Cup races in his career. Junior was a fan favorite, winning the Most Popular Driver award 15 times. He was the Busch Series champion in 1998 and ’99 before being named NASCAR Rookie of the Year in 2000. He is retired and a broadcaster now.
Next generation
Carmelo Anthony/Kiyan Anthony
A four-star shooting guard from New York, Kiyan Anthony announced his commitment to Syracuse in November 2024. Kiyan follows in the footsteps of his father, Carmelo, who averaged 22.5 points and 6.2 rebounds across a 19-season NBA career. Carmelo spent a season at Syracuse, leading the Orange to the 2003 national championship.
Dikembe Mutombo/Ryan Mutombo:
Ryan followed in his father’s footsteps and played for the Georgetown Hoyas as a 7-foot-2 center. He transferred to play for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets after three seasons with the Hoyas.
Penny Hardaway/Jayden Hardaway/Ashton Hardaway:
Both Jayden and Ashton played for their father with Memphis. Jayden is a guard who averaged 3.1 points per game in the 2023-24 season, while Ashton averaged 2.3.
Dajuan Wagner/D.J. Wagner:
D.J. spent the 2023-24 season with the Kentucky Wildcats, averaging 9.9 points and 3.3 assists per game. He transferred to the Arkansas Razorbacks after the season.
Dennis Rodman/DJ Rodman:
DJ was a 6-foot-6 forward for USC. He averaged 8.4 points per game and made 36.2% of his 3-point shots in the 2023-24 season for the Trojans. He went undrafted in the 2024 NBA draft.
Shaquille O’Neal/Shaqir O’Neal:
Shaqir is a 6-foot-8 forward at Florida A&M. He averaged 1.8 points per game in the 2023-24 season for Texas Southern.
Peja Stojakovic/Andrej Stojakovic:
Andrej was a McDonald’s All-American out of high school before committing to the Stanford Cardinal. He averaged 7.8 points per game as a freshman for the Cardinal. He transferred to UC Berkeley after the 2023-24 season.
Jerry Rice/Brenden Rice:
Brenden transferred to the USC Trojans from the Colorado Buffaloes prior to the 2022 season and led the Trojans with 12 touchdown receptions in 2023. He had 791 yards receiving on the year and was selected by the Los Angeles Chargers in the 2024 NFL draft.
Marvin Harrison/Marvin Harrison Jr.:
Harrison Jr. won the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s best wide receiver and finished the 2023 season with 1,211 yards and 14 touchdowns. He was selected No. 4 by the Arizona Cardinals in the 2024 NFL draft as one of the best receiver prospects available.
Frank Gore Sr./Frank Gore Jr.:
Gore Jr. was No. 32 among all FBS running backs in rush yards in 2023 with 1,131. He had 10 rushing touchdowns and averaged 4.9 yards per rush. Gore Jr. went undrafted in 2024 but signed with the Buffalo Bills.
Emmitt Smith/E.J. Smith:
E.J. had a slow start to his collegiate career with just 587 rush yards and five touchdowns in four seasons with Stanford. He transferred to Texas A&M in 2024.
Honorable mentions
Ray Boone/Bob Boone/Bret Boone/Aaron Boone; Felipe Alou/Moises Alou; Tom Gordon/Dee Gordon/Nick Gordon; Rick Barry/Brent Barry/Jon Barry; Bill Walton/Luke Walton; Larry Nance/Larry Nance Jr.; Tim Hardaway/Tim Hardaway Jr.; Bruce Matthews/Jake Matthews/Kevin Matthews; Jackie Slater/Matthew Slater; Gordie Howe/Mark Howe; J.P. Parise/Zach Parise; Peter Stastny/Paul Stastny; Lee Petty/Richard Petty/Kyle Petty; Mario Andretti/Michael Andretti/Jeff Andretti/Marco Andretti; Ken Norton Sr./Ken Norton Jr.; Calvin Hill/Grant Hill; Peter Schmeichel/Kasper Schmeichel
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Jorge Castillo
On Dec. 8, one month and nine days after a nightmare fifth inning torpedoed the New York Yankees‘ hopes of overcoming a 3-1 deficit to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series, the Yankees absorbed another franchise-shifting loss at the winter meetings in Dallas.
Juan Soto wasn’t returning. And he wasn’t just not returning — he was signing with the New York Mets.
The Yankees offered the superstar outfielder a 16-year, $760 million contract. When he rejected it, general manager Brian Cashman and his front office turned to plans they had devised during their pursuit of Soto should they need to pivot. His departure set in motion a flurry of activity over a 12-day stretch in mid-December to attempt to raise the floor on a roster with franchise cornerstones Aaron Judge and Gerrit Cole still in their primes.
“You can’t replace a Juan Soto,” Cashman told ESPN this week. “So how do you cushion the blow and diversify that throughout the lineup? And then the defense was a real problem on our roster. We had a bad defensive team. We have an opportunity to upgrade the defense at the same time, which will improve our run prevention and our pitching. So, getting more athletic, getting more protection on the defensive front while still trying to provide good, strong balance on the offensive side was, ultimately, the simple framework.”
The Yankees believe their aggressive restoration attempt after an uncharted disappointment — losing a bidding war for your superstar free agent? To the Mets? — wasn’t just successful. They believe it was an upgrade.
“Some people may disagree with me,” Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner told the YES Network on Tuesday, “but some people will agree with me: I think we have a better team right now than we did a year ago today.”
The Yankees’ first post-Soto move — just 48 hours after Soto accepted a 15-year deal worth $765 million guaranteed to defect to Queens — was to bolster a strength: They added another front-line arm to a deep rotation with an eight-year, $218 million contract with Max Fried, one of the three best starters on the free agent market.
A day later, the Yankees agreed to re-sign reliever Jonathan Loaisiga to a one-year, $5 million deal. Two days after that, they acquired Devin Williams, arguably the best closer in the sport, from the Milwaukee Brewers for left-hander Nestor Cortes and prospect Caleb Durbin. Four days later, they finalized a trade with the Chicago Cubs for Cody Bellinger. Three days after that, they acquired reliever Fernando Cruz and catcher Alex Jackson from the Cincinnati Reds for backup catcher Jose Trevino.
Then, on Dec. 21, the last major addition: an agreement with veteran first baseman Paul Goldschmidt on a one-year, $12 million contract.
“The Soto deal is insane,” a rival executive said. “It could be a blessing in the end. Fried is an ace. Bellinger might hit 30 HRs there and shores up their defense. Goldschmidt is a Hall of Famer. Added a bullpen arm. All in all, pretty good.”
The Yankees let second baseman Gleyber Torres and relievers Clay Holmes and Tommy Kahnle walk in free agency. Anthony Rizzo and Alex Verdugo are among the other contributors from last season’s club who won’t return.
“I think they’ve pretty much nailed everything they’ve done,” a rival scout said.
Among the Yankees’ potential targets in a pivot were left-hander Blake Snell and shortstop Willy Adames. The team held Zoom calls with both free agents. Real interest was expressed from both sides. But both players decided to sign in the week before Soto made his choice. The Yankees, not wanting to commit to any long-term deals before knowing where Soto would sign, watched them go elsewhere.
The Yankees also held a Zoom call with Corbin Burnes, the third of the big three free agent starters, but an offer was never made, sources said. The Yankees, with Snell off the market, instead focused on Fried.
In the bullpen, Williams represents an upgrade over Holmes, the Yankees’ closer until he lost the job in early September, though it could be for just one season. Williams arrives with just one year of control remaining, just like Soto had.
“At the end of the day, we are trying to win,” Cashman said. “It’s a win-now move, just like Soto’s acquisition the previous year was a win-now move. And, obviously, the Yankees are about impact and trying to find impact.”
The Cubs, seeking to free up payroll, were between trading Bellinger to the Yankees or Toronto Blue Jays, according to sources with knowledge of the negotiations. The Cubs ultimately settled on the Yankees’ offer of right-hander Cody Poteet, also sending the Yankees $5 million to pay down Bellinger’s salary over the next two years.
At the time of the trade for Bellinger, the Yankees were still shopping for a first baseman. They never had interest in signing Pete Alonso, sources said. Christian Walker could have been a fit, but the Yankees decided they didn’t want to pay the penalty for signing a player who was given the qualifying offer. The Yankees engaged in discussions with the Cleveland Guardians on Josh Naylor, but the two sides couldn’t come to a resolution, according to a source, before Naylor was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
In the end, it came down to giving the job to Ben Rice, a rookie last season, or signing one of two free agents in their late 30s: Goldschmidt or Carlos Santana. Goldschmidt, another former MVP, is 37 years old and coming off his worst season, but the Yankees were encouraged enough by his strong second half (.271/.319/.480) with St. Louis to make the low-risk investment.
Goldschmidt’s down season — he batted .245 with 22 home runs, a .716 OPS, and 1.1 fWAR — would still be a considerable improvement on the production the Yankees received from their first basemen in 2024, who ranked last in the majors in OPS (.594), tied for 26th in home runs (17) and 27th in fWAR (-1.2).
Offsetting the loss of a player of Soto’s caliber — one who recorded a .989 OPS, blasted 41 home runs, posted an 8.1 fWAR, routinely delivered in clutch situations and made life easier for Judge hitting behind him — is an inexact science, with several moving pieces beyond all those transactions.
Judge is slated to move from center field, where the metrics said he performed poorly last season, back to right field. Jasson Dominguez, the organization’s top prospect, should be given an extended run for the first time after September call-ups the past two seasons — and he should be an upgrade in left field over Verdugo, one of the least productive regulars in baseball last season. Add Bellinger in center field, and the Yankees’ outfield projects to drastically improve defensively.
“What’s going to matter ultimately is the wins and losses that transpire over the six months when we open March 27th,” Cashman said. “Once that starts, that’s the real world. Sleep on us, don’t sleep on us. Overrate us, underrate us. None of it matters. All that matters is us winning. And if we win as much as we’re capable of winning, then it keeps those dark storms, that are really not fun to deal with, away. And that’s all I care about.”
The Yankees aren’t quite finished yet. They would like to further replenish the roster in two areas.
Acquiring a third baseman or second baseman — and having Jazz Chisholm Jr. play the other position — remains on their to-do list, though club officials maintain they have internal options, including DJ LeMahieu, Oswaldo Cabrera and Oswald Peraza. Trading for Nolan Arenado or signing Alex Bregman are not among the options, sources said.
They could also use a left-handed reliever; the team’s 40-man roster currently doesn’t include one. A reunion with Tim Hill, who excelled after joining the Yankees in June and recorded a 2.05 ERA in 35 appearances, is on the table.
Financially, the salaries of Goldschmidt, Fried, Williams and Bellinger will combine for $74.6 million on the Yankees’ competitive balance tax (CBT) payroll while Soto alone will count as $51 million against the Mets’ CBT ledger. To facilitate further acquisitions, however, the Yankees prefer to shed right-hander Marcus Stroman‘s contract, which includes $37 million over the next two seasons. The Yankees’ current projected CBT payroll is $302.9 million, according to Cot’s Contracts, putting them nearly $62 million over the tax threshold.
Since they’ve been over the tax for at least three straight years, the Yankees would be taxed at a base rate of 50% plus a 60% surcharge if they exceed the threshold by at least $60 million at the end of the season.
Last season, the Yankees paid a $62.5 million tax for their $316 million CBT payroll. The tax bill was the third-highest among the nine payees. The Mets were second. The team that beat them in October was first.
The Dodgers, after investing more than $1 billion in player contracts last winter, continued splurging after winning the World Series, committing more than $450 million to free agents this winter after paying a $103 million tax payment on top of their $353 million payroll last season. Their spending spree has drawn angst from all corners of the baseball world — including from the Yankees, once the free-spending Goliath who engendered ire throughout the industry.
“It’s difficult for most of us owners to be able to do the kind of things that they’re doing,” Steinbrenner said.
The Yankees, according to Forbes, are the highest valued franchise in the majors and the fourth-highest-valued sports franchise in the world at an estimated $7.55 billion. The Dodgers rank a distant second in baseball and 24th in the world at $5.45 billion but are making major inroads in Japan with Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and now Roki Sasaki on the roster.
For now, the Dodgers are the defending champions, and they are, on paper, better than ever — with All-Stars seemingly everywhere. The Yankees, without Soto, will try to chase them down with a very different roster after a very busy offseason. Time will tell if their pivot was enough.
“It’s impossible to make 110% great decisions at all times,” Cashman said. “We’re trying to aspire to that, but maybe this ’25 version will be the magic run. We’ll see.”
Joey Logano has found a way to tune out months of negativity.
Critics? Naysayers? Anyone who thinks his third Cup Series championship was a fluke?
“I can’t hear it because my trophies, they kind of, like, echo around me,” Logano quipped during a videoconference call with media Wednesday.
Logano won his third title in November, sparking debate about whether NASCAR’s current playoff format is the best way to determine the series’ worthiest champion. Few could make a strong case for that being Logano in 2024.
He won four races, had 13 top-10 finishes and rarely had the car to beat over 37 events.
He got huge breaks along the way, too. He used what amounted to a Hail Mary to win in Nashville — stretching his empty fuel tank through five overtimes — just to qualify for the postseason. And then he was actually eliminated from playoff contention in the second round only to be reinstated when Alex Bowman’s car failed a postrace inspection.
While competitors have since called for NASCAR to tweak its playoff format, with some wanting to move the finale to a different track every year instead of keeping it at Phoenix Raceway, Logano — not surprisingly — believes the setup is just fine.
“The playoff system is very entertaining,” he said, adding that teams often get hot in other sports and win it all. “It takes a lot to get through the 10 races to win the championship. … When the playoffs start, a lot of times you see teams that fire up.
“And we’ve been one of those teams, thankfully, and it’s worked out for us three times. But I don’t think that means you have to change the playoff system.”
NASCAR said earlier this week that no tweaks would be made to the championship format in 2025. Instead, officials plan to study it for another year before making any decisions. That won’t stop drivers from stumping for a makeover.
“I think it deserves a look for sure and probably a change down the road,” Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron said. “I just don’t know what that change is. I feel like we’ve just gotten into such a routine of going to the same racetrack for the final race, and having similar tracks that lead up to it has gotten a little bit predictable. But you could say probably the same thing in other sports, with the [Kansas City] Chiefs hosting the AFC championship every year.
“It’s just kind of the nature of sports, probably; it gets a little bit repetitive. But it’d be nice to see the final race to move around.”
Team Penske has won the last three Cup Series titles, with Logano sandwiching championships around teammate Ryan Blaney. All of those came in Phoenix, where the finale landed in 2020 after nearly two decades at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
NASCAR has made wholesale changes to its schedule in recent years, including moving the season-opening Clash and the all-atar race.
The Clash bounced from Daytona International Speedway to the Los Angeles Coliseum and is now headed to historic Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, for Sunday’s exhibition.
The all-star race went from North Carolina to Tennessee to Texas before landing back in North Carolina.
No one would be surprised to see the finale end up with similar movement.
“We have some tracks that could be awesome for the championship, like Vegas and Homestead and even Charlotte,” Byron said. “Just being open to all the different ideas would probably be cool and bring some buzz and also just kind of even the competition out.”
With no changes in sight for now, Logano, 34, can focus on a fourth championship. He’s one of six drivers with three Cup titles and needs another to join Jeff Gordon (4), Dale Earnhardt (7), Jimmie Johnson (7) and Richard Petty (7) as the only guys with at least four.
“Probably not until I’m done racing will I be content with what I have because I’m not done yet,” Logano said. “I got a lot of years ahead of me to win more championships and races.
“As great as it is, the first 20 minutes is amazing because you’re celebrating with your team and your family. And then every day [after] it becomes a little less exciting and more thoughts of, ‘We got to do it again.'”
Another one surely would do a lot to drown out those detractors.
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