Maris, << MAR ihs, >> Roger (1934-1985), held the major league record for home runs in one season from 1961 to 1998. Maris had set the record when he hit 61 homers in 1961. His team, the New York Yankees, played a 162-game schedule that year. In 1927, Babe Ruth, also a Yankee, hit 60 homers in a 154-game schedule. Both totals were considered records until 1991, when Maris’s 61 homers were recognized as the sole record. The record stood until 1998, when Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals hit 70 home runs.
Maris, an outfielder, batted left-handed and threw right-handed. He started his major league career with the Cleveland Indians (now called the Cleveland Guardians) in 1957 and was traded to the Kansas City (now Oakland) Athletics in 1958. In 1960, his first year with the Yankees, he hit 39 home runs. Maris was voted the American League’s most valuable player in 1960 and 1961. After the 1966 season, he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals. He retired from baseball following the 1968 season.
Roger Eugene Maras was born on Sept. 10, 1934, in Hibbing, Minnesota, and grew up in Fargo, North Dakota. He changed his last name to Maris in 1955. He died on Dec. 14, 1985.
