Babe Ruth's 1927 World Series ring, 'curse' contract up for auction

May 25 (UPI) -- For a price, you can win Babe Ruth's 1927 World Series ring or his infamous "Curse of the Bambino" contract in an auction.

The two items headline Lelands.com's Invitational Auction. The auction closes on June 30 and features several hundred high-value lots.

Ruth's New York Yankees championship ring started with an opening bid of $100,000 but had risen to $285,000 by Thursday morning. The contract, which sent Ruth from the Boston Red Sox to the New York Yankees in 1919, had a bid of $214,539.

The deal for Babe was made between Red Sox owner Harry Frazee and Yankees owner Jacob Ruppert. The exchange also included a $300,000 loan from the Yankees, but that loan is not mentioned in the documents.

Ruth came to the Yankees in exchange for $100,000. The contract is touted as "the most important document is sports history."

Frazee notoriously sold the Red Sox in 1923. The franchise didn't have a winning season again until 1935, while New York won 26 championships before the Red Sox won another, after trading away Ruth.

George Herman "Babe" Ruth hit .376 with 54 home runs and 135 RBI in 1920, his first season with the Yankees. The two-time All-Star and 1923 MVP won the World Series seven times, three with the Red Sox and four with the Yankees.

His second baseball championship came in 1927 against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Yankees swept the Pirates 4-0, behind Ruth's .400 average, two home runs and seven RBI. He hit .356 with a career-high 60 home runs during the 1927 regular season. The Yankees used just four pitchers in that World Series sweep.

The contract sold for $996,000 in 2005.

Lelands.com's auction also features a 1955 Sandy Koufax Brooklyn Dodgers rookie jersey, a 1950-51 Joe DiMaggio Yankees game-used uniform, a 1957 Willie Mays New York Giants game-worn and signed jersey from his Polo Grounds game, the ball from when Pete Rose broke Ty Cobb's record with 4,192 career hits and a 1939 Lou Gehrig game-used bat.

The auction also has several Olympic medals and items from other sports up for bid.