Lou Gehrig's Last Yankees Home Jersey Sells for Record $2.7M, From 1939 World Series

A piece of baseball history sold at a lofty price on Wednesday.

Per ESPN's Dan Hajducky, Lou Gehrig's uniform from his final game at Yankee Stadium sold for $2.712 million at auction, marking the highest price paid for a piece of Gehrig memorabilia.

The jersey from Game 2 of the 1939 World Series was photo-matched by MeiGray Authenticated to Oct. 5, 1939, according to Hajducky.

"The jersey had been originally preserved by a dry cleaner who was tasked with cleaning the uniforms for the [Yankees' affiliate] Newark Bears," the lot description reads. "Noticing that Lou Gehrig's jersey was among those headed for Minor League use[,] the cleaner coveted the final home shirt worn by the Iron Horse and retained it for over 50 years."

The jersey was sold at the auction of Dr. G.B. Espy's Collection, presented by Christie's and Hunt Auctions. Espy originally purchased the jersey for $115,000 in 1991.

Gehrig played for the Yankees from 1923 to 1939, collecting 493 home runs and winning six World Series and two AL MVPs. He was diagnosed with ALS, now commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease, in 1939 and played just eight games that season, but stayed with the team and delivered the Yankees' lineup cards to umpires.

He died in 1941, two years after giving his famous "Luckiest Man Alive" speech.