Roger Maris Golf Tournament Collection
Collection
Identifier: MSS 3124
Scope and Contents
The Roger Maris Golf Tournament collection is organized chronological; the newspaper
clippings and the souvenir programs as well as the golf bag tags when dated. The rest of the collection is kept together with like items I.E., cassette tapes, DVDS, and hole flags. All oversized items are placed in a box together to keep items from sitting free.
Dates
- 1984-2019
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open under the rules and regulations of the NDSU Archives.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyrights to this collection is held by The North Dakota State University Archives.
Biographical / Historical
Roger Eugene Maris was born in Hibbing, Minnesota on September 10, 1934. His father, who worked for the Great Northern Railroad, moved the family to North Dakota in 1942, where Roger and Rudy, his older brother by one-year, grew up. The Maris brothers played sports and attended Shanley High School in Fargo, North Dakota, where Roger and Rudy excelled in football and basketball. It was in the 10th grade when Roger met Patricia, his future wife, at a high school basketball game.
Roger played baseball in the American Legion program during the summers, since the North Dakota high schools with the cold weather did not have a program. Roger led his American Legion team to the state championship.
with a professional baseball contract looming, Roger gave up his scholarship at the University of Oklahoma to pursue a career in baseball. He signed a $15,000 contract to play for the Cleveland Indians organization. Roger spent four years in the minor leagues playing for Fargo-Moorhead, Keokuk, Tulsa, Reading and Indianapolis before making it to the major leagues in Cleveland.
During his first year in the majors, Roger hit 14 home runs and drove in 51 RBI's for the Cleveland Indians. Midway through his second year, Roger was traded to the Kansas City Athletics and finished the season with 28 home runs and 81 RBI's. Roger received attention and in his third year, was elected to the 1959 All-Star team.
After the 1959 season, Roger Maris was traded to the New York Yankees. In 1960, his first season with the Yankees, Roger led the major leagues with 27 home runs and 69 RBI's by the halfway point and was again named to the All-Star team. Roger finished the season first in RBI's with 112, first in slugging percentage, first in extra base hits and second in home runs with 39 (one behind teammate Mickey Mantle who led the majors with 40). He also hit two World Series home runs, won the Gold Glove Award for outstanding fielding, and was named the American League's Most Valuable Player. But it would be for the following year that he would be most remembered.
In 1961, Roger and Mickey Mantle received national attention as they chased for the single season home run record of 60 set by Babe Ruth in 1927. Although Roger got off to a slow start hitting only one home run in April, he quickly made up ground hitting 11 home runs in May and 15 home runs in June. The two Yankee sluggers went back and forth leading the majors in home runs during the summer. Roger became the first player in history to hit 50 home runs by the end of August. Mantle had 46. The Yankees continued to win and were playing to sellout crowds both at home and on the road
Then, on October 1 1961, the final day of the regular season, Roger hit his 61st home run against the Boston Red Sox, to set the new home run record. The Yankees won the game 1 to 0 on Roger's home run, and went on to win the World Series that year. Roger was named the Most Valuable Player in the American League for the second straight year, as he led the league in home runs and runs scored and tied for RBI's. Roger and Mickey also set the home run record for teammates hitting 115 home runs between them.
In 1962, Roger hit 33 home runs. His 133 home runs were the most of any player for the three year period from 1960 to 1962. He also drove in 100 RBI's for the third straight year and was selected to the All-Star team for the fourth straight year. Mickey hit 30 home runs, drove in 89 RBI's, and was named the league's Most Valuable Player that year. The Yankees repeated as World Series Champions.
In 1963, Roger missed almost half of the season with injuries playing in only 90 games, but still hit 23 home runs and drove in 53 RBI's and the Yankees returned to the World Series. In 1964, Roger hit 26 home runs and 71 RBI's and the Yankees again won the pennant and a trip to the World Series.
Roger sustained a wrist injury in 1965 and was only able to play in 46 games for the Yankees. After the 1966 season, the Yankees traded Roger Maris to the St. Louis Cardinals, where he played his last two years.
In 1967, Roger helped lead the Cardinals to the World Series, where he then homered and drove in a Cardinal record 7 RBI's as St. Louis won the World Series. In 1968, Roger helped the Cardinals return to the World Series and then announced his retirement at the end of the season.
In all, Roger Maris played in seven World Series in the sixties (1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1967, 1968) more than any other player, where he hit six World Series home runs and drove in 18 World Series RBI's. He finished his career with 275 home runs.
After Roger retired from baseball, he owned and operated an Anheuser-Busch beer distributorship with his brother Rudy and raised his six children with his wife Patricia. On July 22, 1984, in a ceremony in Yankee Stadium, the Yankees retired Roger's number (#9) and erected a plaque in his honor paying tribute to his achievements.
The Celebrity Golf Tournament is heald yearly in Fargo, ND to raise money for cancer research and treatment at the Stanford hospitals in the area.
Roger Maris died on December 14, 1985 of lymphoma cancer at the age of 51.
Extent
3.75 Linear Feet
Language of Materials
English
Overview
The Roger Maris Golf Tournament collection is organized chronological; the newspaper
clippings and the souvenir programs as well as the golf bag tags when dated. The rest of the collection is kept together with like items I.E., cassette tapes, DVDS, and hole flags. All oversized items are placed in a box together to keep items from sitting free.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Jerry Rostad accession 11/30/2020 (2020-054irs)
Legal Status
The NDSU Archives owns the property rights to this collection.
- Title
- Finding Aid to the Roger Maris Golf Tournament Collection
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Institute for Regional Studies Repository
Contact:
West Building N
3551 7th Avenue North
Fargo North Dakota 58102 United States
ndsu.archives@ndsu.edu
West Building N
3551 7th Avenue North
Fargo North Dakota 58102 United States
ndsu.archives@ndsu.edu