On October 1, 1961, Roger Maris slammed...
home run number 61 into the stands. In the last game of the regular season, Maris broke the long-standing 1927 record of baseball legend Babe Ruth for the most home runs in a single season. Fans loyal to Ruth criticized Maris. They argued that Ruth hit 60 home runs in a 154 game schedule, while Maris hit only 59 home runs in the first 154 games of the season, not reaching 61 home runs after 162 games. The Baseball Commissioner, Ford Frick, ruled that Maris did not break Ruth's record. It was not until 1991 that Maris was credited with the record.
Maris's achievement stood for thirty-seven years until it too was broken by both Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals and Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs within days of each other in September 1998. Sosa finished the 1998 season with 66 home runs, while Mark McGwire established the new single season home run record with 70.
Considered an outstanding outfielder, a superb base runner, and a fine team player, Maris played on three World Series championship teams, twice with the New York Yankees and once with the St. Louis Cardinals.
- Search across the American Memory collections on New York Yankees to find more historical images of a club which both Roger Maris and Babe Ruth played for.
- Browse the American Memory collection, Baseball Cards, 1887-1914 which contains a number of early baseball cards of Miller Huggins, a hall of fame second baseman, who, as a manager, led Babe Ruth and the Yankees to six pennants and victory in the 1927 World Series.
- Find personal accounts of America's great pastime in American Life Histories, 1936-1940. Search the collection on baseball.
- To learn more about the origin of the World Series, read on.
