HERITAGE’S WINTER PLATINUM NIGHT SPORTS AUCTION IS A ONE-STOP SHOP FOR HISTORIC ITEMS FROM THE NEW YORK YANKEE’S RECORD-BREAKING HOME RUN SEASON
By Robert Wilonsky
Roger Maris’ 1961 season, when he hit a then-major league record 61 home runs for the New York Yankees, has been well chronicled in film and print as he chased Babe Ruth’s record and ran from the haters who hurled death threats in his direction. Even Commissioner of Baseball Ford Frick tried to rob Maris of his place in history, insisting that a player could only break Ruth’s home run record if he did it within 154 games, not the 162 played that season. That’s why it took baseball 30 years to officially recognize Maris’ record, which was long accompanied by that pesky asterisk.
The moment Roger Maris hit homer No. 61 on October 1, 1961, breaking the single-season record of 60 home runs Babe Ruth set in 1927
One of Maris’ jerseys from that season resides in Cooperstown. Another one finds a new home when it crosses the block in Heritage’s February 22-23 Winter Platinum Night Sports Auction. The game-worn jersey offered by Heritage, however, comes complete with Maris’ uniform pants and stirrups. And it’s not the only item available from his mythic season in the sun. Keep reading for a closer look at Maris’ Yankee pinstripes and other memorabilia from his ’61 season.
The Maris uniform available in Heritage’s Winter Platinum Night Sports Auction has been photo-matched to multiple games during that historic spring and summer when he hit 61 home runs – his final one on the last day of the regular season, no less! – and captured his second consecutive American League MVP Award. All uniform pieces exhibit game wear, as visitors to the museum at Yankee Stadium can attest as it was showcased for years in that location.
The uniform is joined by a pair of Maris’ cleats worn during some of those historic trips around the base path. Bits of dirt and dried grass still cling to the metal spikes on the soles of the black leather cleats. And, like Maris’ uniform, these game-worn spikes were previously displayed at the museum inside Yankee Stadium.
Also offered in the auction is Maris’ 53rd home run ball from that 1961 season. Two home runs on September 2, 1961, brought his tally to 53 in the Yankees’ 135th regular-season game. Maris launched the first of the day against the visiting Detroit Tigers in the bottom of the sixth inning, a solo shot that broke a 2-2 tie. In his next at-bat in the bottom of the eighth, he’d record the last runs of the 7-2 victory as he drove home Tony Kubek with yet another long blast to right field. Only a handful of Maris’ 61 home run balls are known to have survived. This is just the third Heritage has offered and the latest in the march to 61.
The auction even has something for movie buffs: a facsimile of the 1960 American League Most Valuable Player Award presented to actor Barry Pepper as Maris in Billy Crystal’s acclaimed movie *61 about that season. A signed photograph of Pepper with the award is included with the lot.
ROBERT WILONSKY is a staff writer at Intelligent Collector.