Wednesday, October 1, 2014

HISTORY

A little bit of baseball . . .

On this day in 1961, Roger Maris of Fargo, North Dakota, hit his 61st home run of the year for the New York Yankees.  He became the first player to break the record of 60 round-trippers set by the great Babe Ruth in 1927, 34 years before.



Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and Barry Bonds all later hit more than 61 in a season but their performances were tainted by rumors of steroid use.  And they were all in the National League.  Maris' record of 61 home runs still stands as the American League record 53 years later.

In tribute to a fellow North Dakotan, here's a great baseball tune.