Ruth bat sold for $1.26 million

NEW YORK, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- A baseball bat Babe Ruth once used to hit a home run sold at auction Thursday for $1.26 million.

It became the third most expensive piece of sports memorabilia on record.

The bat was authenticated to have been used by Ruth in the first game ever held at Yankee Stadium in 1923. Ruth hit a home run that day.

The new owner of the bat was not identified.

Only Mark McGwire's 70th home run ball and the rarest of baseball cards -- a 1909 Honus Wagner -- have sold for more than Ruth's bat.