The shirt worn by the Argentine soccer star when he scored two fabled goals, one of which he attributed to divine aid, fetched what is believed to be the highest price ever paid for a sports item.
During the quarterfinals of the 1986 World Cup, the English soccer player Steve Hodge looped a ball to his goalie that was intercepted by the Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona, enabling Maradona to score one of the most notorious goals against Hodge’s team. It would become one of the most talked-about goals in professional soccer: In a fast-moving sequence, Maradona got away with using his left hand to palm the ball, and he later invoked “the hand of God” to explain what had occurred. In the stadium tunnel after Argentina won,2-1, Hodge asked Maradona to exchange jerseys. Now, the victor of the exchange seems debatable. Maradona advanced to the finals and won, but Hodge received a shirt that, dried sweat and all, he just sold for nearly $9.3 million at an auction held by Sotheby’s — believed to the highest price ever paid for a piece of sports memorabilia. Sotheby’s announced the sale on Wednesday on Twitter. It did not specify the buyer. In a news release, Sotheby’s quoted Hodge calling it a “pleasure” to have exhibited the shirt for the last 20 years at the National Football Museum in Manchester, England. He added, “The Hand of God shirt has deep cultural meaning to the football world, the people of Argentina, and the people of England and I’m certain that the new owner will have immense pride in owning the world’s most iconic football shirt.” Leila Dunbar, an appraiser of pop culture merchandise, said that the sale was emblematic of the recent increase in the value of sports memorabilia.
