Maris, Roger

in full Roger Eugene Maris

(born Sept. 10, 1934, Hibbing, Minn., U.S.—died Dec. 14, 1985, Houston, Texas) U.S. baseball player. Maris's family moved from Minnesota to North Dakota when he was 10, and there he excelled in high school sports, playing American Legion baseball in Fargo in the summer. An outfielder and left-handed hitter, he played for the Cleveland Indians, the New York Yankees, and the St. Louis Cardinals. In 1961 his one-season total of 61 home runs broke Babe Ruth's long-standing record of 60, edging out his Yankee teammate Mickey Mantle. Maris's record stood until 1998, when it was broken by Mark McGwire's 70 and Sammy Sosa's 66. See also Barry Bonds.

Maris, Roger (Eugene) (1934–85) baseball player; born in Hibbing, Minn. During his 12-year career as an outfielder (1957–68), mostly with the New York Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals, he hit a career 275 homeruns and was twice voted the American League Most Valuable Player (1960–61). In 1961 he slammed 61 homeruns to break Babe Ruth's single season record of 60 homeruns set in 1927; the reaction to his breaking Ruth's records was so extreme—and often threatening—that Maris seemed an unhappy man for the rest of his life.