‘Cursed’ jersey of MLB icon buried under rivals stadium raises ‘bargain’ six figure sum

Apr 13, 2026 - 16:15

The Boston Red Sox – New York Yankees rivalry is one of the most fierce in baseball.

For a century, the Yankees and Red Sox defined baseball drama, consequence, and neighborhood-level grudges across America.

Chris Sale #41 of the Boston Red Sox, Giancarlo Stanton #27 of the New York Yankees, Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees and Rafael Devers #11 of the Red Sox work to separate a fight involving Joe Kelly #56 of the Boston Red Sox and Tyler Austin #26 of the New York Yankees during the seventh inning at Fenway Park on April 11, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. Austin rushed the mound after being struck by a pitch thrown by Kelly. — The Yankees – Red Sox rivalry is one of the most infamous in baseball

The feud’s origin is widely considered to be the moment of Babe Ruth’s 1919 sale, often referred to as ‘The Curse of the Bambino’.

Ruth, a dual-threat player with the Red Sox, thrived as a pitcher and a hitter – a 20th century Shohei Ohtani. With the Yankees, he was one of the most dominant players in MLB history.

The Bambino Curse haunted the Red Sox for years. As the Yankees took home World Series after World Series, Boston’s drought got longer and longer.

After an 86-year wait, the Red Sox finally won their sixth title in 2004, presumably ending the Bambino curse, but for one fan, that wouldn’t be the end of it.

In August, 2006, the Yankees broke ground on their new stadium, with the exterior resembling their original home, and the interior more modernized and it was set to open in 2009.

During the construction, a Red Sox fan by the name of Gino Castignoli dropped a David Ortiz jersey in the wet concrete, hoping to place a ‘hex’ on the Yankees.

After being tipped by two anonymous construction workers, the Yankees would go on to discover the jersey, and use a jackhammer to break a hole in their newly constructed stadium.

Worse for Castignoli, he was forced to help with the extraction.

New York would go on to donate the jersey to the Jimmy Fund, a charity established in 1948 by the Red Sox’ national league rival Boston Braves, and associated with Ted Wiliams.

The story would have a happy ending however, as the charity would go on to auction the jersey on Ebay.

A David Ortiz jersey dug up from the new construction at Yankee Stadium sells for $175,100.00 on Ebay. friday, April 24, 2008. — The jersey was found, and the Yankees donated it to charity, where it was later auctioned off

Kevin Meeha, owner of Imperial Cars and proud owner of the David Ortiz shirt that was buried at yankee stadium, is the winner of the auction benefitting Dana Farber cancer research. His bid of 175,000.00 won him the jersey. HERE, he poses for a photographer with a shirt similar to the one he will be presented with at a future Yanks/Red Sox game — The jersey was bought by Kevin Meehan for a staggering cost

The battered Ortiz jersey would garner 282 bids, but the winner of the auction was Kevin Meehan who acquired it at the staggering cost of $175,100.

“I actually thought it was going to sell for more money,” Meehan told ESPN after purchasing the jersey.

“I have three young boys that I take to the games and they would have killed me if I didn’t buy the shirt.”

“As we said, what was intended to be a dastardly act has turned into something very beautiful, and we hope that these funds will play a small part in the fight against pediatric cancer,” the Yankees said in a statement.

The hex attempt did not work, the Yankees would win the 2009 World Series, their first in the new stadium, but they have not won their 28th title since.

They came close in 2024, but a series of defensive-miscues in Game 5 against the Los Angeles Dodgers stopped their comeback attempt short.

Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees reacts after a strike during the fifth inning of a game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on April 11, 2026 in St Petersburg, Florida. — The Yankees have not won a World Series since 2009

Castagnoli did say that he had buried something else within the grounds of the stadium, but refused to reveal where…

Could the Yankees be in the middle of a hex themselves? Nobody but Castagnoli will know.

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