Roger Maris’ Feat of 61 Homers Isn’t Forgotten : It Was 25 Years Ago That Yankee Right Fielder Broke Babe Ruth’s Record

PHOENIX —  A quarter-century has passed since Roger Maris hit 61 home runs in a season.

The Amazin’ Mets, the mustachioed Oakland A’s, and the Big Red Machine have all come and gone.

We’ve seen six Presidents, four baseball commissioners and man on the moon.

Since that year of triumph for Maris at Yankee Stadium, Tom Seaver has won 304 games, Pete Rose has collected 4,204 hits and three of Maris’ teammates have been named to the Hall of Fame.

Last December, another development occurred to emphasize the passage of time. Roger Maris died of cancer, leaving behind a game that never looked comfortable with his contribution.

“Roger was just an outstanding ballplayer,” recalled his manager, Ralph Houk. “A lot of people remember him for the homers. He was a great baserunner, and an outstanding outfielder with an outstanding arm.”

“It was a great year, and something he never forgot,” said Bob Fishel, formerly a Yankees public relations man and now an American League official.

With his 61 home runs, Maris broke the record of another Yankee right fielder. Babe Ruth hit 60 in 1927.

The 25 intervening years demonstrate how baseball has changed.

For one, then-commissioner Ford Frick injected controversy into Maris’ chase with his “asterisk” ruling.

Bowing to pressure and perhaps motivated by his past association with Ruth, Frick ruled that Maris must either break the record in 154 games or enter the book with an asterisk saying he benefited from an extended schedule.

Can you imagine public-relations conscious Peter Ueberroth nowadays doing anything to tarnish such a potentially lucrative drama?

Also, the Yankees drew far less than a capacity crowd on Oct. 1, the day that Maris powered a Tracy Stallard fastball into the right field “porch” at Yankee Stadium for the record-breaking homer.

By contrast, fans besieged Cincinnati’s Riverfront Stadium Sept. 11, 1985, when Rose passed Ty Cobb for the most hits in a career.

Finally, in a circumstance that shaped perception of the record for years to come, Maris reluctantly endured media glare.

In those relatively uncomplicated times before the world had heard of Lee Harvey Oswald, no one thought to organize daily news conferences for a baseball player.

“I always felt a little guilty I couldn’t make life a little easier for him,” recalled public relations man Fishel. “You know the way Rose handled those things (daily press conferences). First of all, Rose loves those things, which Roger didn’t.

“If his family had been here, that would have helped him, too. But his children were small, and his wife stayed back home.”

Traded from Kansas City to the Yankees for the 1960 season, Maris made an abortive run at the record before suffering injury and finishing with 39 homers.

Then came the “61 in ’61.” American League talent was slightly diluted by the expansion Washington Senators and Los Angeles Angels, and Maris capitalized.

He hit No. 1 in Detroit against right-hander Paul Foytack in the Yankees’ 11th game of the season. Until May 17, he owned only three.

Suddenly, the homers came. He hit two in Boston on May 30, and the following day added another to give him 12 entering June.

He hit 15 in June and added 13 in July, including 4 in one doubleheader against the White Sox at Yankee Stadium.

All the while, Mickey Mantle chased Ruth as well, and this did nothing to increase Maris’ popularity. After being booed for years as an unfit successor to Joe DiMaggio, Mantle had gained acceptance and now was the darling of the chase.

That cast Maris as a villain who had the nerve to challenge two legends--Mantle and Ruth--in the same season.

The spotlight made things worse. The interview load grew by the day. After a Yankee victory, writers would ask Maris why he hadn’t hit a home run. Another tried to probe into Maris’ sex life.

Through it all, Maris kept hitting homers, though at a slow pace. Injuries knocked Mantle from the chase. Suddenly, it was either Maris or no one.

After a week without a homer, Maris hit No. 57 in Detroit against right-hander Terry Fox. The next day, he received a break from an extra-inning game and victimized Frank Lary in the 12th for No. 58.

Maris’ 154th game came in Baltimore on Sept. 20. He homered off Milt Pappas in the third inning for No. 59, but could not tie Ruth that night.

Instead, he hit No. 60 on Sept. 26 off Baltimore’s Jack Fisher. No. 61 came on the final day of the season, and gave the Yankees a 1-0 victory.

Like it or not, a man from Fargo, N.D., had hit more home runs in a season than Babe Ruth ever had.

“We were just glad it was over with,” said manager Houk. “I know I was happy for him.

“At that time, we were looking forward to the World Series. It was foremost on everyone’s mind, and it was foremost on his mind, too. Many times he said, ‘I wish this was over with.”’

The Yankees won the pennant by eight games over Detroit before beating the Reds in the World Series. Mantle hit .317 with 128 RBIs. Yogi Berra was part of a remarkable catching trio that combined for 64 homers. Whitey Ford led the league with 25 victories. All three are in the Hall of Fame.

Contradicting the notion that Maris picked on a short fence, 30 of the homers came at home, 31 on the road. Forty-nine came off righties and 36 came in the daytime.

After winning back-to-back MVP awards, Maris played with the Yankees through 1966. He spent two seasons--both pennant winners--with the St. Louis Cardinals before retiring. It is one mark of Maris that he appeared in seven World Series in 12 seasons.

Nevertheless, his legacy appears set. He was a simple, shy ballplayer who met circumstances and was audacious enough to respond.

To all appearance, his feat brought satisfaction rather than happiness, respect rather than adulation.

Today, the record looks safe. Ballparks are growing bigger and relief pitchers are throwing harder. Someday, the game may return to the intimate ballyard, and a phenom will awaken memory of 1961.

Until then, baseball remains in awe of what Roger Maris accomplished--25 years ago.