OTD in 1961: Maris breaks Babe’s home run record

On this day in 1961, the unbreakable was broken. Roger Maris approached the plate with 60 home runs on the season, tied with Babe Ruth for the most home runs in a season. He tied the record five days earlier against the Orioles. His second at-bat of the day, he had taken two balls from Boston’s Tracy Stallard to put the count at 2-0. From there, Stallard threw a waist-high fastball, and Maris swung.

With a loud crack and a blast to right field, the ball sailed over the fence. With his 61st home run of the season, Maris had broken the unbreakable.

October 1st, 1961. Roger Maris becomes a baseball legend with one swing of the bat. pic.twitter.com/F447N41MCv

— Dom Izzo (@DomIzzoWDAY) October 1, 2018

On this day in 1961, Roger Maris hit magical home run number 61. pic.twitter.com/29FT5l7H1H

— YES Network (@YESNetwork) October 1, 2021

The 1961 season

Setting the record was not an easy feat for Maris. Not only was he battling against a record that stood for 34 years, but he was also battling a teammate. The race had gone back and forth for the entire season between Maris and Mickey Mantle. Mantle had already hit 50 home runs before with 52 home runs in the 1956 season. Late into the season, Mantle had 54 home runs to compliment Maris’ 59, but a hip injury sidelined Mantle, leaving Maris wide open for the record. On Sept. 26, 1961, Maris tied the record during a 3-2 win against the Orioles.

#OTD 1961 Mel Allen calls HR#60 for the Yankees Roger Maris in 1961 vs the Orioles at Yankee Stadium.#Yankees #NYC #Orioles #Baltimore #1960s #MLB

pic.twitter.com/QVdPz88gEb

— Tom's Old Days (@sigg20) September 26, 2021

Five days later, he broke the longstanding record with his 61st home run, which was the only score in a 1-0 win over the Red Sox. In an interview on Sportscene with Steve Russell, Maris’ son Kevin discussed his father’s achievement and what it meant to his father.

The Yankees would finish the season as the World Series champions after defeating the Cincinnati Reds four games to one. This was their 19th total World Series championship. The Yankees would repeat in 1962.

Maris’ career

During a legendary career that spanned 12 seasons, Maris played for three teams, most notably the Yankees. A great hitter, he was also an outstanding defensive outfielder, mostly playing in right field. He won the American League MVP in 1960 and 1961 and won 3 World Series championships. Along with this, he was a seven-time all-star and a Gold Glove winner. During his interview on Sportscene with Steve Russell, Kevin Maris discussed his father’s career and how he was more than just a power hitter.

By the time Maris retired after the 1968 season, he hit 275 home runs. Maris’ No. 9 jersey was retired by the Yankees in 1984.

#OTD in 1961 at Yankee Stadium, Roger Maris and 23,154 in attendance watch the flight of his batted ball sail into right field bleachers for his 61st home run of season breaking Babe Ruth's record of 60 homers set in 1927. It would also be only run in Yankees 1-0 win vs Red Sox pic.twitter.com/n0awQdmUlm

— Old-Time Baseball Photos (@OTBaseballPhoto) October 1, 2021

The home run record

In 1927, Babe Ruth set the record at 60 home runs in a season, breaking his previous record of 59 in 1921.

On This Date 09/30/1927: Babe Ruth broke his own single-season home run record by hitting his 60th home run of the season.#Yankees @BabeRuthMuseum #YankeeStadium pic.twitter.com/dQAog3tbGw

— Brad B ⚾️ (@celeBRADtion) October 1, 2019

Individually, Ruth has broken the record four times. He first broke it in 1919 as a member of the Boston Red Sox with 29 home runs. In his first season with the Yankees in 1920, Ruth would break his own record with 54 home runs.

After Maris broke the record in 1961, it took 37 seasons before the record was broken again. In the 1998 season, St. Louis’ Mark McGwire and Chicago’s Sammy Sosa battled each other in a historic race for the record. McGwire first broke the record and had 65 home runs late into the season. Sosa would then break the record with his 66th home run of the season. However, McGwire would again break the record less than an hour after Sosa. McGwire would finish with a record 70 home runs on the season. Three years later, San Francisco’s Barry Bonds would set the current record with 73 home runs during the 2001 season.