Roger Maris is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Fargo, North Dakota.
His interment was a final homecoming of sorts: Maris grew up and went to high school in Fargo, attending Bishop Stanley High School. He was born in Hibbing, Minnesota.
Maris signed out of high school with the Cleveland Indians, who traded him in 1958 to the Kansas City Athletics. In December of 1959, the A’s traded Maris to the New York Yankees.
It was in New York, of course, that Maris broke out, winning the American League MVP award in 1960 and repeating the feat in 1961, when he also just happened to break Babe Ruth‘s single-season home run record.
In the process, Maris outslugged teammate Mickey Mantle, 61 homers to 54 and divided fans on whether his record should count since the mark fell in the Bombers’ 163rd game of the season.
Ruth’s 1927 Yanks had played under the old 154-game schedule.
In the end the mark stood and became baseball’s new standard. And, though Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, and Barry Bonds have since surpassed Maris’ 61, many still consider the Rajah to be baseball’s single-season home run king.
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