Roger Maris was one of the premiere professional baseball players from the late 1950s to late 1960s.  During his eleven year career, Maris racked up a long list of accomplishments, including: seven All-Star appearances, three World Series championships, two American League MVP awards and a Golden Glove award.  The right fielder could also hit the ball out of the park very well and in 1961, Maris had one of his best slugging seasons.

On this day, September 26th, in 1961, Roger Maris blasted his 60th home run while playing for the New York Yankees.  Maris’s single season accomplishment tied the great Babe Ruth’s record.  Maris’s quest to beat Ruth’s record was filled with a great deal of controversy, as many baseball experts felt that the record would be tainted, because of the recent expansion of MLB teams and season length.  Regardless of the controversy, Maris went on to break Ruth’s record on the last game of the 1961 season.

Maris’s home run mark remained an MLB record for nearly 50 years, until it was finally smashed by Mark McGwire in 1998.  Roger Maris’s #9 jersey is retired by the New York Yankees.