Maris, Roger

Roger Maris, in full Roger Eugene Maris, (born September 10, 1934, Hibbing, Minnesota, U.S.—died December 14, 1985, Houston, Texas), professional baseball player whose one-season total of 61 home runs (1961) was the highest recorded in the major leagues until 1998. As this feat was accomplished in a 162-game schedule, baseball commissioner Ford C. Frick decreed that Maris had not broken Babe Ruth’s record of 60 home runs (which was set during a 154-game schedule in 1927) because Maris hit only 59 home runs in the first 154 games of the season. Not until 1991 was Maris recognized without dispute as the official record holder. Maris’s record stood until September 8, 1998, when Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals hit his 62nd home run of the season. (McGwire eventually hit 70 home runs that year.) See Researcher’s Note: Baseball’s problematic single-season home run record.

Maris entered the major leagues with the Cleveland Indians in 1957. From 1960 through 1966 he played for the New York Yankees, Ruth’s former team; like Ruth, Maris was an exceptional defensive outfielder as well as a powerful hitter. Maris won the Most Valuable Player award for the American League (AL) in 1960 and 1961. He retired with a career total of 275 home runs after playing for the Cardinals in 1967 and 1968. Although his 61-home run mark was surpassed as a major league record in 1998, it remained an AL record until 2022, when it was broken by Aaron Judge of the Yankees.