The 1961 season was a historic one for the iconic New York Yankees. With new manager Ralph Houk and a potent lineup featuring Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris, the Yankees cruised to the American League pennant with a 109-53. 1961 was the first season that saw teams play 162 games, which was eight more than the 154 games up to that point. Throughout the summer, Mantle and Maris (the M&M Boys) were launching home runs at a prestigious pace. So much so, both were rapidly gaining on Babe Ruth, whose single-season total of 60, was still the high-water mark. Ultimately, Maris wound up surpassing Ruth on the last day of the season against the visiting Boston Red Sox.

     Mantle’s season was over due to an injury and coming into game 162, Maris sat at 60 home runs. Facing Boston pitcher Tracy Stallard, Maris deposited his fourth inning pitch into the right field bleachers, and history was made. Offered is a Roger Maris themed framed piece that has two cut signatures of Maris and Stallard matted into the display. Maris signed his name in bold blue marker on yellow paper, while Stallard’s signature is in black pen on a white index card. This piece also includes five black and white photographs of Maris in action. One photograph shows him swinging, another shows a close up of him smiling in his stance, another photo is of him tipping his cap after hitting his 61st home run, another photo shows him being greeted at home plate by Yogi Berra and a bat boy, while the center picture shows the trajectory of his 61st home run. This piece measures to a framed dimension of 19 x 26 inches and comes with a full LOA from JSA (Y81286).

Auction Notepad