Roger Maris - '61 in '61

1.75-inch

I'm For Maris sold $1250.00 (2020 Leland Auction

Greatest Home Run Hitter - 6-inch - sold at Yankee Stadium Souvenir shop. Reproductions exist at 2.25-inches - Keyman Collectibles

As the 1961 mid-season approached, it seemed quite possible that either Roger Maris or Mickey Mantle, or perhaps both, would break Ruth's 34-year-old home run record. Sportswriters began to play the "M&M Boys" against each other, inventing a rivalry where none existed; in fact, the two men were friends and roommates. Mantle, however, was felled by a hip infection causing hospitalization late in the season, leaving Maris as the single remaining player with the opportunity to break Ruth's home run record.

Maris had 59 home runs after the Yankees' 154th game and therefore failed to beat Ruth's 60 home runs within the original season length. Maris hit his 61st home run on October 1, 1961, in the fourth inning of the last game of the season, at Yankee Stadium in front of 23,154 fans. Maris was awarded the 1961 Hickok Belt as the top professional athlete of the year and won the American League's MVP Award for the second straight year.

Yankee ticket as seen on Sotheby's