103-805: Hebrew Hammer usually refers to Hank Greenberg (1911–1986), Hall of Fame baseball player for the Detroit Tigers . It may also refer to: Ryan Braun (b. 1983), American All Star baseball player Adam Edelman (b. 1991), American-born four-time Israeli National Champion in skeleton event, and Israeli Olympian Andy Gruenebaum (b. 1982), American soccer player Gabe Kapler (b. 1975), American baseball player Al Rosen (1924-2015), American All Star baseball player Ido Pariente (b. 1978), Israeli mixed martial artist Dudi Sela (b. 1985), Israeli tennis player Cletus Seldin (b. 1986), American boxer See also [ edit ] The Hebrew Hammer (film) ,
206-674: A Gold Glove Award . The Yankees won the American League pennant, the first of five consecutive pennants, but lost a seven-game World Series to the Pittsburgh Pirates culminating in Bill Mazeroski 's dramatic walk-off home run . In 1961, the AL expanded from eight to ten teams. In the expansion draft , the newly created Los Angeles Angels and Washington Senators were restricted to drafting players from AL rosters. The perceived result
309-517: A first baseman in the 1930s and 1940s. A member of the Baseball Hall of Fame and a two-time Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award winner, he was one of the premier power hitters of his generation and is widely considered one of the greatest sluggers in baseball history. Greenberg played the first twelve of his 13 major league seasons for Detroit; with the Tigers, he was an All-Star for four seasons and
412-640: A "Roger Maris, 61 in 61" commemorative stamp on September 17, 1999, as part of the Celebrate the Century series. This places him in rarer company than even being elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame , as only 30 baseball players have been given their own commemorative U.S. postage stamp as of 2022. Actor Barry Pepper portrayed Maris in the 2001 HBO film 61* , directed by Billy Crystal . In 2005, in light of accusations of steroid use against
515-542: A 2003 film directed by Jonathan Kesselman Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Hebrew Hammer . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hebrew_Hammer&oldid=1256901012 " Categories : Disambiguation pages Nicknames in sports Jewish sportspeople Hidden categories: Short description
618-472: A 4–1 Tigers win, and hit a two-run homer in in the eighth inning of Game 6 that tied the score 8–8; the Cubs went on to win that game with a run in the bottom of the 12th. In 1946, he returned to peak form and playing at first base. He led the AL in home runs (44) and RBIs (127), both for the fourth time. He was second in slugging percentage (.604) and total bases (316) behind Ted Williams . In 1947, Greenberg and
721-478: A Jew. According to sportswriter Ross Newhan , Greenberg may have encountered more bigotry over his career than any player other than Jackie Robinson. Greenberg sometimes retaliated against the racial attacks, once going into the Chicago White Sox clubhouse and challenging manager Jimmy Dykes to a fight. On another occasion he called out the entire Yankees team, daring the perpetrator to reveal himself. In
824-578: A bone chip in his hand. In 1966, the Yankees' and Maris's fortunes continued to decline as he played most of the season with a misdiagnosed broken bone in his hand. On December 8, 1966, he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for Charley Smith . Maris played his final two seasons with the Cardinals, helping the team to win the 1967 and 1968 pennants and the 1967 World Series . In the 1967 World Series, he hit .385, with
927-679: A collision with Jake Powell of the Washington Senators and did not play the remainder of the season. He finished the season with 16 hits, 1 home run, and 15 RBIs in 12 games. In 1937, Greenberg recovered from his injury and was voted to the AL All-Star roster, but did not play. On September 19, 1937, he hit the first home run into the center-field bleachers at Yankee Stadium. He led the AL by driving in 184 runs (third all-time, behind Hack Wilson in 1930 and Lou Gehrig in 1931), and in extra-base hits (103), while batting .337 with 200 hits. He
1030-423: A combined 165 home runs the previous season (the title "Murderers Row", originally coined in 1918, had most famously been used to refer to the 1927 Yankees ). As mid-season approached, it seemed quite possible that either Maris or 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,
1133-502: A front-office post with the Cleveland Indians. No player had ever retired after a final season in which they hit so many home runs. Since then, only Ted Williams (1960; 29), Dave Kingman (1986; 35), Mark McGwire (2001; 29), Barry Bonds (2007; 28) and David Ortiz (2016; 38) have hit as many or more homers in their final season. He was one of the truly great hitters, and when I first saw him at bat, he made my eyes pop out. It
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#17331052092501236-545: A group headed by Myron H. Wilson , who voiced full confidence in Greenberg. Under Wilson, Greenberg's role as operating head of the franchise was cemented to the point that he represented the Indians at owners meetings alongside vice president and board member George Medinger. During this time, he and Pirates owner John W. Galbreath helped negotiate an amended player pension plan in which the players got 60% of television revenues from
1339-453: A hitch in his swing and will never hit good pitching. Banks is too slow and didn't have enough range [at shortstop], and Mays can't hit a curveball." While Ryan had initially been content to leave baseball matters to Greenberg, he tried to seize greater control after the 1952 season, when the Indians suffered a drop in attendance despite coming within two games of the pennant. The Indians board sided with Greenberg, prompting Ryan to sell out to
1442-435: A home run and seven RBI. It was the best World Series performance of Maris' career. Maris and Mantle starred in a 1962 film, Safe at Home! , playing themselves. That year, Maris, Mantle, and Yankee teammate Yogi Berra also made appearances in the film That Touch of Mink , starring Cary Grant and Doris Day . In 1980, Maris, Mantle, Whitey Ford , Elston Howard , and other former Yankee players made appearances in
1545-518: A national high school record, which still stands, for most return touchdowns in a game, with four (two kickoff returns, one punt return, and one interception return). In that 1951 game, he also scored a fifth touchdown on a 32-yard run from scrimmage. He met his future wife, Patricia, in the tenth grade at a high school basketball game. Maris began play for the Indians' minor league organization at Fargo (the Fargo-Moorhead Twins) in 1953. He
1648-431: A salary cut of $ 5,000 ($ 110,000 today) as a result of his off-year in power and run production. He was asked to move from first base to left field to accommodate Rudy York , who was one of the best young hitters of his generation; York was tried at catcher, third baseman, and outfielder and proved to be a defensive liability at each position. Greenberg in turn, demanded a $ 10,000 bonus if he mastered left field, insisting he
1751-500: A single, double, and two home runs in his first game as a Yankee. He was named to the AL All-Star roster again and played in both games. He finished the season leading the AL in slugging percentage (.581), runs batted in (112), and extra base hits (64). He also hit 39 home runs and had a .283 batting average . He won the American League 's Most Valuable Player award and was recognized as an outstanding defensive outfielder with
1854-503: A sister, Lillian (1907–1989). His parents had originally wanted to name him "Hyman"; however, the name on his birth certificate was erroneously listed as "Henry". The family owned a successful cloth-shrinking plant in New York. Eventually, they moved from Greenwich Village to the Bronx where Greenberg attended James Monroe High School . There, Greenberg was an outstanding all-around athlete and
1957-597: A source of motivation. At 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) and towering above his contemporaries, he disproved the commonly held stereotype that Jews were not athletic and did not belong in sports. His decision to not play on Yom Kippur at a time of rampant antisemitism in the United States, and around the world, was significant and made him a hero in the American Jewish community. Sandy Koufax , who did not play in Game 1 of
2060-557: A standing ovation from congregants at Congregation Shaarey Zedek when he arrived. With Greenberg absent from the lineup, the Tigers lost to the New York Yankees 5–2. They went on to face the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1934 World Series , losing in seven games against the "Gashouse Gang". In 1935, Greenberg led the league in RBIs (168), total bases (389), and extra base hits (98), tied Foxx for
2163-535: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Hank Greenberg Henry Benjamin Greenberg (January 1, 1911 – September 4, 1986), nicknamed " Hammerin' Hank ", " Hankus Pankus ", and " the Hebrew Hammer ", was an American professional baseball player and team executive. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily for the Detroit Tigers as
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#17331052092502266-630: Is speculated that, had it not been for his service in World War II, Greenberg would likely have approached 500 home runs and 1,800 RBIs; he missed all but 19 games of the 1941 season, the three full seasons that followed, and most of 1945 to World War II military service. Starring as a first baseman and left fielder with the Tigers (1930, 1933–46) and doing duty only briefly with the Pirates (1947), Greenberg played nine full seasons. He compiled 331 home runs, 1,046 runs and 1,276 RBIs in 1,394 games. Greenberg
2369-529: The 1935 World Series , umpire George Moriarty warned three Chicago Cubs players to stop yelling antisemitic slurs at Greenberg and eventually cleared the players from the Cubs bench. Moriarty was disciplined for this action by then-commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis . Greenberg initially resented being singled out as a Jewish ballplayer and, unlike his parents, was not a particularly observant Jew. However, he later accepted his place in baseball, saying: When I
2472-481: The 1962 World Series against the San Francisco Giants . With the Yankees leading 1–0 and Matty Alou on first, Willie Mays doubled toward the right-field line. Maris cut off the ball and made a strong throw to prevent Alou from scoring the tying run; the play set up Willie McCovey 's series-ending line drive to second baseman Bobby Richardson , capping what would prove to be the final World Series title for
2575-586: The 1965 World Series because it fell on Yom Kippur, has often pointed out that his decision to not play was not unprecedented: "Hank Greenberg did it first." After the 1947 season, Greenberg retired as a player, and Cleveland Indians owner Bill Veeck hired him as the Indians' farm director. When Veeck was forced to sell the Indians due to a divorce settlement, new owner Ellis Ryan retained Greenberg, promoting him to general manager . During his tenure, he sponsored more African American players than any other major league executive. Greenberg's contributions to
2678-473: The 20th Bomber Command , 20th Air Force in China when it began bombing Japan on June 15. He was ordered to New York, and in late 1944, to Richmond, Virginia . Greenberg served 47 months, the longest of any major league player. Greenberg remained in military uniform until he was placed on the military inactive list and discharged from the U.S. Army on June 14, 1945. He was the first major league player to return to
2781-578: The American Red Cross and the War Relief fund. An Associated Press All-Star roster was named for the AL and NL by a group of their sportswriters that included Greenberg as one of the All-Stars. Greenberg, who played left field in 72 games and batted .311 in 1945, helped lead the Tigers to a come-from-behind American League pennant, clinching it with a dramatic grand slam home run in the ninth inning on
2884-409: The Baseball Hall of Fame . In his final season of 1947, Greenberg tied for the league lead in walks with 104, with a .408 on-base percentage and finished eighth in the league in home runs and tenth in slugging percentage. Greenberg became the first major league player to hit 25 or more home runs in a season in each league. Despite still being productive, Greenberg decided to retire as a player to take
2987-715: The Cleveland Indians in 1957. He was traded to the Kansas City Athletics during the 1958 season, and to the New York Yankees after the 1959 season. Maris finished his playing career as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals in 1967 and 1968. Maris was an AL All-Star from 1959 through 1962, the AL Most Valuable Player in 1960 and 1961, and an AL Gold Glove Award winner in 1960. Maris appeared in seven World Series ; he played for Yankees teams that won
3090-715: The Evansville Hubs in the Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League , hitting .318 with 15 home runs and 85 runs batted in. In 1932, the Beaumont Exporters in the Texas League , he hit 39 homers with 131 RBIs, winning the league's Most Valuable Player award , and leading Beaumont to the Texas League title. On September 14, 1930, Greenberg made his major league debut as a pinch hitter against the New York Yankees . It
3193-583: The National Baseball Hall of Fame via voting of the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BWAA) from 1974 to 1988. Maris has not been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame . In 1977, sportswriter Greg Hansen criticized baseball writers in the St. Petersburg Independent for excluding Maris from the Hall of Fame after Maris received only 72 votes in that year's voting. Hansen noted that there were many outfielders in
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3296-565: The bombing of Pearl Harbor and the United States officially joining the war effort, Greenberg re-enlisted as a sergeant on February 1, 1942, and volunteered for service in the Army Air Forces , becoming the first major league player to do so. He graduated from Officer Candidate School and was commissioned as a first lieutenant in the Air Corps (the new "Air Force" service retained the old name for its own logistics and training elements ) and
3399-507: The 1934 season, he announced that he would not play on September 10, which was Rosh Hashanah , the Jewish New Year, or on September 19, the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur . Detroit fans grumbled at the decision, however, with one reportedly saying, "Rosh Hashanah comes every year but the Tigers haven't won the pennant since 1909." As a result, Greenberg did considerable soul-searching, and discussed
3502-422: The 1968 season. Gussie Busch , who owned the St. Louis Cardinals and Anheuser-Busch , got Maris started in the beer business. Maris also coached baseball at Gainesville's Oak Hall High School , which named its baseball field after him in 1990. In 1978, Maris returned to Yankee Stadium on Old Timers Day , ending a decade-long boycott from the Yankees. He was introduced by Mantle and got a standing ovation from
3605-477: The 24-year-old Ralph Kiner . Greenberg was impressed by the rookie, later saying of him, "Ralph had a natural home run swing. All he needed was somebody to teach him the value of hard work and self-discipline. Early in the morning on off-days, every chance we got, we worked on hitting." Kiner hit 51 home runs that year to lead the National League and ended his career with 369 home runs, eventually being elected to
3708-457: The AL lead in walks (119), was second in RBIs (146), slugging percentage (.683), and total bases (380), and third in OBP (.438) and set a still-standing major league record of 39 homers in his home park, the newly re-configured Briggs Stadium. He also set a major-league record with 11 multiple-home run games and came in third in the vote for MVP, behind Jimmie Foxx and Bill Dickey . In 1939, Greenberg
3811-569: The AL title in home runs (36), was 2nd in the league in doubles (46), slugging percentage (.628), was 3rd in the league in triples (16), and in runs scored (121), 6th in on-base percentage (.411) and walks (87), and was 7th in batting average (.328). He was unanimously voted as the Most Valuable Player in the American League . By the All-Star break that season, Greenberg had hit 25 home runs and set an MLB record (still standing) of 103 RBIs, but
3914-540: The All-Star Game and World Series. In 1953, he was partly responsible for an important change to baseball's waivers rule. In previous seasons, once a player passed through waivers in his team's league (AL or NL), any team from the other league could acquire him, a detail the Yankees used to often outbid other AL teams for NL players. Greenberg successfully campaigned for a new rule that, after June 15, required players to pass through waivers in both leagues before teams in
4017-546: The BBWAA's Historical Overview Committee. Maris was named one of the ten finalists, but ultimately was not part of the chosen class, which consisted of Minnie Miñoso , Tony Oliva , Jim Kaat , and Gil Hodges . Speaking at the 1980 All-Star Game , Maris said, "They acted as though I was doing something wrong, poisoning the record books or something. Do you know what I have to show for 61 home runs? Nothing. Exactly nothing." Ford Frick, baseball's commissioner in 1961, had stated that
4120-630: The Cleveland farm system led to the team's successes throughout the 1950s, although Bill James once wrote that the Indians' late 1950s collapse should also be attributed to him. In 1949, Larry Doby also recommended Greenberg scout three players Doby used to play with in the Negro leagues : Hank Aaron , Ernie Banks , and Willie Mays . The next offseason Doby asked what Indians' scouts said about his recommendations. Greenberg replied: "Our guys checked 'em out and their reports were not good. They said that Aaron has
4223-443: The Hall of Fame who had never won two MVP awards, and that no one else had ever hit 61 home runs in a season. "To show you what an injustice this is to the man, Maris finished just a notch ahead of Harvey Kuenn , for crying out loud." Hansen wrote that Maris had resented the media's intrusion on his privacy; he said that Maris's tense relationship with the media had affected the voting. Hansen also wrote that Maris had told him after
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4326-438: The Indians, he was traded to the Kansas City Athletics with Dick Tomanek and Preston Ward for Vic Power and Woodie Held . Maris played in 99 games and hit 19 home runs for Kansas City in 1958. In 1959, he played in 122 games and hit 16 home runs; he missed 45 games during the second half of the season as a result of an appendix operation. He was selected to play in the second of two All-Star Games held that year. In
4429-450: The Tigers had a lengthy salary dispute. When Greenberg decided to retire rather than play for less, Detroit sold his contract to the Pittsburgh Pirates . To persuade him not to retire, Pittsburgh made Greenberg the first baseball player to make $ 100,000 in a season as pure salary. Team co-owner Bing Crosby recorded a song, "Goodbye, Mr. Ball, Goodbye" with Groucho Marx and Greenberg to celebrate Greenberg's arrival. The Pirates also reduced
4532-435: The Tigers reach their first World Series in 25 years. He led the league in doubles, with 63 (the fourth-highest all-time in a single season), and extra-base hits (96). Additionally, he was third in the AL in slugging percentage (.600) – behind Jimmie Foxx and Lou Gehrig , but ahead of Babe Ruth – and in RBIs (139), sixth in batting average (.339), seventh in home runs (26), and ninth in on-base percentage (.404). Late in
4635-463: The World Series in 1961 and 1962 and for a Cardinals team that won the World Series in 1967 . Maris's home run record was controversial, as the previous single-season home run record (60, set by Babe Ruth in 1927) was set during a period when MLB teams played 154 games per season. Maris broke Ruth's record in the year the AL baseball season was extended to 162 games, hitting his 61st home run in
4738-577: The Yankees until 1977. In 1963, Maris played in only 90 games, hitting 23 home runs. Maris was injured in game two of the 1963 World Series , in which the Yankees were swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers in four games. In 1964, he rebounded, appearing in 141 games, batting .281 with 26 home runs. Maris hit a home run in Game 6 of the 1964 World Series , in which the Yankees lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games. In 1965, his physical problems returned, and he had off-season surgery to remove
4841-691: The ceremony, wearing a Yankee #9 uniform. Elston Howard (No. 32), a teammate of Maris, was honored along with Maris. The Roger Maris Museum , which opened in 1984 at the West Acres Shopping Center in Fargo, and the Roger Maris Cancer Center, which opened in 1990 at Sanford Hospital in Fargo, are both named after Maris. On May 5, 1990 a Roger Maris trading card is seen in season 3, episode 22 of Star Trek: The Next Generation , The Most Toys . The United States Postal Service issued
4944-523: The course of his career he demonstrated a higher-than-average fielding percentage and range at first base. When asked by the Tigers' front office to move to left field in 1940 to make room for Rudy York , he worked tirelessly to master that position as well, reducing his errors in the outfield from 15 in 1940 to 0 in 1945. During his career, Greenberg faced a number of antisemitic incidents, racial slurs from both spectators and opposing players. Other players sometimes stared because they had never before seen
5047-501: The crowd. Maris was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 1983. In response, Maris organized the annual Roger Maris Celebrity Golf Tournament to raise money for cancer research and treatment. He died of the disease at age 51 on December 14, 1985, at M.D. Anderson Hospital in Houston, Texas and was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Fargo, North Dakota . Maris was considered for election to
5150-608: The film It's My Turn , starring Michael Douglas and Jill Clayburgh . Maris' wife, Pat, appeared as herself on October 2, 1961, episode of the game show To Tell the Truth . She received three of the four possible votes. In the 1970s and 1980s, Maris and his brother owned and operated Maris Distributing, the Budweiser beer distributorship in Gainesville, Florida (and Ocala, Florida ), where he moved after retiring from baseball after
5253-413: The final day of the season against the St. Louis Browns , avoiding a one-game playoff against the now-second-place Washington Senators . The Tigers went on to beat the Cubs in the 1945 World Series in seven games. Greenberg hit two of the only three home runs hit in that World Series, with Phil Cavarretta hitting one for the Cubs in Game 1. Greenberg homered in Game 2, where he batted in three runs in
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#17331052092505356-648: The first baseman. Hence, after his freshman year ended, Greenberg signed with the Detroit Tigers for $ 9,000 ($ 164,000 today). Greenberg played minor league baseball for three years. He played 17 games in 1930 for the Hartford Senators of the Eastern League before playing the remainder of the year with the Raleigh Capitals of the Piedmont League , hitting .314 with 19 home runs. In 1931, he played for
5459-563: The game to replace right fielder Charlie Keller and left fielder Ted Williams , with Greenberg playing in left field and Finney in right field. Greenberg batted twice in the game and fouled out to the catcher twice. The NL won the game 4–0, the first All-Star Game shutout. That season, Greenberg led the AL in home runs for the third time in six years with 41; in RBIs (150), doubles (50), total bases (384), extra-base hits (99), at-bats per home run (14.0), and slugging percentage (.670; 44 points ahead of Joe DiMaggio ). Greenberg finished second in
5562-545: The game. Maris' parents had a turbulent marriage and divorced in 1960. The Maris family moved to Grand Forks, North Dakota , in 1938, and to Fargo, North Dakota , in 1946. Maris entered Fargo Central High School in 1948. In 1950, Maris, a Catholic , transferred to Bishop Shanley High School in Fargo, and graduated from there in June 1952. Maris played both baseball and football for the Shanley Deacons. In football , Maris set
5665-663: The general opinion in a poem titled "Came Yom Kippur: Speaking of Greenberg", in which he used the Irish (and thus Catholic) names Murphy and Mulroney. The poem, published in the Detroit Free Press , ends with the lines: We shall miss him on the infield and shall miss him at the bat. But he's true to his religion – and I honor him for that! The Detroit press was not so kind regarding the Yom Kippur decision, nor were many fans, but Greenberg in his autobiography recalled that he received
5768-478: The greatest contributions to baseball between 1947 and 1972. Beginning in December 2011, this committee voted every three years on ten candidates from the era selected by the Baseball Writers' Association of America 's (BBWAA) Historical Overview Committee. Maris did not appear on the first Golden Era Committee ballot in 2011 or on the second one in 2014 (one former player was voted to the Hall of Fame in 2011 and no one
5871-684: The last game of the season, which led to questions about the legitimacy of his record. Maris' major league record remained unbroken until Mark McGwire surpassed it in 1998; his AL record stood until 2022, when Aaron Judge hit 62 home runs for the New York Yankees. Roger Eugene Maris was born on September 10, 1934, in Hibbing, Minnesota ; in 1955, his father changed the surname from Maras to Maris. Roger's parents, Rudolph S. "Rudy" Maras and Ann Corrine "Connie" (née Perkovich) were born in Minnesota, and were of Croatian heritage. Maris' brother Rudolph, who
5974-425: The late 1950s, Kansas City frequently traded their best young players to the New York Yankees —a practice which led them to be referred to as the Yankees' "major league farm team " —and Maris was no exception. In a seven-player deal in December 1959, he was sent to the Yankees with Kent Hadley and Joe DeMaestri in exchange for Marv Throneberry , Norm Siebern , Hank Bauer , and Don Larsen . In 1960, Maris hit
6077-424: The league for the second time. That year, he had 11 games with multiple home runs, a new major league record. Greenberg matched what was then the single-season home run record by a right-handed batter, ( Jimmie Foxx , 1932); the mark stood for 66 years until it was broken by Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire in 1998. Greenberg also had a 59th home run washed away in a rainout . It has been long speculated that Greenberg
6180-692: The league to Williams in runs scored (129) and OBP (.433), all while batting .340 (fifth-best in the AL ). He also led the Tigers to the AL pennant, and won his second AL MVP award, becoming the first player in major-league history to win an MVP award at two different playing positions. However, the Tigers subsequently lost the 1940 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds in seven games. Greenberg admitted in his autobiography after his career ended that he had taken part in sign stealing in September 1940 season, which
6283-403: The majors after the war. In his first game back on July 1, he hit a home run. The 1945 All-Star Game , scheduled for July 10, had been officially cancelled on April 24 and Major League Baseball did not name All-Stars that season due to strict travel restrictions in place during the last days of the war. In place of the All-Star Game, seven interleague games were played on July 9 and 10 to benefit
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#17331052092506386-516: The matter with his rabbi and his father; finally he relented and agreed to play on Rosh Hashanah, but stuck with his decision not to play on Yom Kippur. Dramatically, Greenberg hit two home runs in a 2–1 Tigers victory over the Red Sox on Rosh Hashanah. The next day, the Detroit Free Press ran the Hebrew lettering for "Happy New Year" across its front page. Columnist and poet Edgar A. Guest expressed
6489-473: The minors, the clubs' win-loss records improved from the prior season. Maris made his major league debut on April 16, 1957, with the Cleveland Indians . Two days later, he hit the first home run of his career, a grand slam off Tigers pitcher Jack Crimian at Briggs Stadium in Detroit . He finished his rookie season with 14 home runs. On June 15, 1958, after playing in 51 games and hitting nine home runs for
6592-705: The most home runs between Ruth's record 60 in 1927 and Roger Maris ' record 61 in 1961. Greenberg was the first major league player to hit 25 or more home runs in a season in each league, and remains the AL record-holder for most runs batted in in a single season by a right-handed batter. When the United States joined World War II , Greenberg was the first major leaguer to join the armed forces; he spent 47 months in military service, more than any other major league player, all of which took place during what would have been prime years in his major league career. Like many players who served in WWII, his career statistics suffered because of
6695-560: The nation's first peacetime draft. In the spring of 1941, the Detroit draft board initially classified Greenberg as 4F for " flat feet " after his first physical for military service, and he was recommended for light duty. The rumors that he had bribed the board, and concern that he would be likened to Jack Dempsey (who had received negative publicity for failure to serve in World War I ), led Greenberg to request to be reexamined. On April 18, he
6798-452: The other league could attempt to obtain them. Roger Maris Roger Eugene Maris (born Maras ; September 10, 1934 – December 14, 1985) was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He is best known for setting a new MLB single-season home run record with 61 home runs in 1961. Maris played in the minor leagues from 1953 to 1956, and made his major league debut for
6901-455: The plate for that famous home run, Maris heard the sign relayed to him and hit it out for a home run (coincidentally, the third base coach of the Yankees in Frank Crosetti was a teammate of Ruth). In 1962, Maris made his fourth consecutive All-Star team appearance and his seventh and final All-Star game appearance. He made a game-saving play in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 7 of
7004-444: The right field bleachers. 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. It is said, however, that the stress of pursuing the record was so great for Maris that his hair occasionally fell out in clumps during the season. Within a few years the asterisk controversy died down and all prominent baseball record keepers listed Maris as
7107-441: The schedule changes might threaten Babe Ruth 's single-season home run record; Maris replied, "Nobody will touch it ... Look up the records and you'll see that it's a rare year when anybody hits 50 homers, let alone 60." Yankee home runs began to come at a record pace. One famous photograph lined up six 1961 Yankees, including Mantle, Maris, Yogi Berra and Bill Skowron , under the nickname " Murderers Row ", because they hit
7210-541: The season, the new record should be shown separately in the "record books", with some "distinctive mark" next to it indicating it had been done in a 162-game season. The asterisk as such a mark was immediately suggested by New York Daily News sportswriter Dick Young . In spite of its formality, Frick's so-called ruling was merely a suggestion: Major League Baseball had no direct control over any record books until many years later. As he closed in on Ruth's record, Maris received death threats and NYPD detective Kieran Burke
7313-412: The single-season home-run total had to be achieved in 156 games in order to be an official record. Despite this, there was no separate designation of the record, and it was affirmed by two different committees, in 1968 and 1991. Maris's single-season MLB home run record was broken by Mark McGwire , who hit 70 in 1998. Barry Bonds set a new MLB record with 73 home runs in 2001. Maris's home run mark
7416-405: The single-season record holder. Incidentally, it was later found that the Yankees stole signs from the bench that year, specifically having the help of pitcher Bob Turley and his distinct whistle; Tony Kubek noted that the stealing was so good that Turley wasn't allowed off the bench even when he got hurt, and he estimated that Mickey Mantle hit 50 home runs due to Turley. When Maris went up to
7519-642: The size of Forbes Field 's cavernous left field, renaming the section "Greenberg Gardens" to accommodate Greenberg's pull-hitting style. Greenberg played first base for the Pirates in 1947 and his time there coincided with the arrival of Jackie Robinson in the Major Leagues. He was one of the few opposing players to publicly welcome Robinson to the majors at a time when most opposing players were openly hostile. Greenberg himself had faced hostilities from opposing players and spectators who often shouted antisemitic slurs at him during games and, hence, knew what Robinson
7622-677: The three players who had, by then, hit more than 61 home runs in a season (McGwire, Sosa and Bonds), the North Dakota Senate wrote to Major League Baseball to express the opinion that Roger Maris's 61 home runs should be recognized as the single-season record. Maris was inducted into the Baseball Reliquary 's Shrine of the Eternals in 2009. As of 2010, Newman Signs Inc., which holds the naming rights to Newman Outdoor Field in Fargo, continued to use billboard signage to declare Maris as
7725-410: 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. In the middle of the season, baseball commissioner Ford Frick (a friend of Ruth) announced at a press conference that unless Ruth's record was broken in the first 154 games of
7828-630: The voting that he knew he would never get inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame: "I'll leave the Hall of Fame to the geniuses that vote on it. I will never get in. I have always known that. I will not argue with you about why or why not I should be elected." In 2010, the Baseball Hall of Fame established a Golden Era Committee (replacing the Veterans Committee ) to vote on the possible Hall of Fame induction of previously overlooked players along with retired umpires, managers and executives who made
7931-414: The war and would have certainly been higher had he not served in the armed services during wartime. In 1947, Greenberg signed a contract for a record $ 85,000 salary before being sold to the Pittsburgh Pirates , where he played his final MLB season that year. After retiring from playing, Greenberg continued to work in baseball as a team executive for the Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox . Greenberg
8034-481: Was a year older, developed polio at age 18 in 1951. It was Maris' brother Rudolph who began his baseball career. Maris recalls his brother forcing him to play the sport, saying that he physically would drag him out by his ear to play the game that he hated desperately. While he loved taking breaks from his schoolwork and spending time outdoors, he could not stand baseball. By the time he was playing baseball in high school, he no longer had to be forced to play and enjoyed
8137-529: Was also an excellent contact hitter, earning a lifetime batting average of .313. During his career, he was named to the All-Star Team four times, and won the AL Most Valuable Player Award twice, in 1935 and 1940. As a fielder, the 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) Greenberg was awkward and unsure of himself early in his career, but mastered first base through countless hours of practice. Over
8240-440: Was also surpassed by McGwire in 1999 (with 65) and by Sammy Sosa (with 66 in 1998, 63 in 1999, and 64 in 2001). McGwire, Sosa, and Bonds have all been linked to performance-enhancing drugs. Maris remained the AL record-holder for most home runs in a season until Aaron Judge hit his 62nd home run on October 4, 2022, in the Yankees' 161st game of the year. In 1964, Maris received North Dakota's Roughrider Award . In 1977, Maris
8343-538: Was assigned to the Physical Education Program. In February 1944, he was sent to the U.S. Army Special Services school. Promoted to captain , he requested overseas duty later that year and served in the China-Burma-India Theater for over six months, scouting locations for B-29 bomber bases and was a physical training officer with the 58th Bomber Wing . He was a Special Services officer of
8446-428: Was assigned to watch over him. 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. Boston Red Sox pitcher Tracy Stallard gave up the record home run, which was caught by fan Sal Durante in
8549-405: Was bestowed with the long-standing nickname of "Bruggy" by his basketball coach. His preferred sport was baseball , and his preferred position was first base . However, his best sport was basketball and he helped the high school basketball team win the city championship. Greenberg also excelled at soccer and track and field. In 1929, the 18-year-old 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) Greenberg
8652-633: Was found fit for regular military service and was reclassified. On May 7, 1941, he was inducted into the U.S. Army after playing left field in 19 games, and reported to Fort Custer at Battle Creek, Michigan . His salary was cut from $ 55,000 ($ 1,196,000 today) a year to $ 21 ($ 500 today) a month. In November, while serving as an anti-tank gunner, he was promoted to sergeant , but was honorably discharged on December 5 (the United States Congress released men aged 28 years and older from service), two days before Japan bombed Pearl Harbor . After
8755-475: Was going through. During a game against the Brooklyn Dodgers , he collided with Robinson while covering first base. Afterwards, Greenberg asked if Robinson was alright and encouraged him to "Stick in there. You’re doing fine. Keep your chin up." Robinson later praised Greenberg, saying, "Class tells. It sticks out all over Mr. Greenberg." That year he also had a chance to mentor a young future Hall-of-Famer,
8858-565: Was inducted into the North Dakota American Legion Baseball Hall of Fame. A Roger Eugene Maris plaque dedication and No. 9 retirement ceremony in Monument Park at Yankee Stadium was held on July 22, 1984 ( Old-Timers' Day ). The inscribed plaque, subtitled "Against All Odds", calls Maris "A great player and author of one of the most remarkable chapters in the history of major league baseball." Maris participated in
8961-405: Was inspired by teammates Tommy Bridges and Pinky Higgins , who noticed that the new rifle they used for their hunt had a telescopic lens that could read signs when in the stands in the outfield. He also said that sign stealing was going on in the 1948 Cleveland Indians and the 1959 Chicago White Sox teams. On October 16, 1940, Greenberg became the first American League player to register for
9064-434: Was intentionally walked late in the season to prevent him from breaking Ruth's record, but Greenberg dismissed this speculation, calling it "crazy stories". Howard Megdal has calculated that in September 1938, Greenberg was walked in over 20% of his plate appearances, above his average for the season. Baseball historian Ron Kaplan, while not dismissing antisemitism's role in Greenberg's decreased home run rate, states that there
9167-598: Was named rookie of the year in the Northern League, then moved on to Keokuk, Iowa , the next season. In four minor league seasons from 1953 to 1956, Maris hit .303 with 78 home runs. In game two of the 1956 Junior World Series , Maris, playing for the Indianapolis Indians of the American Association ( Triple-A league ), set a record by driving in seven runs. With all five teams for which Maris played in
9270-408: Was named the American League (AL) Most Valuable Player in 1935 and 1940. He had a batting average over .300 in eight seasons, and won two World Series championships with the Tigers ( 1935 and 1945 ). He was the AL home run leader four times and his 58 home runs for the Tigers in 1938 equaled Jimmie Foxx 's 1932 mark for the most in one season by anyone other than Babe Ruth , and tied Foxx for
9373-487: Was not selected to the AL All-Star roster; one reason was that AL manager Mickey Cochrane had put himself on the All-Star roster despite eventually not playing in the game. That season, Greenberg led the Tigers to another pennant. However, during Game 2, he sprained his wrist and was sidelined for the remainder of the series as the Tigers won their first World Series title . In April 1936, Greenberg re-injured his wrist in
9476-475: Was nothing different in the way Greenberg was pitched to in the final days of the 1938 season. Greenberg was again voted to the AL All-Star roster in 1938, but because he was not named to the 1935 AL All-Star roster and was benched in the 1937 game, he declined to accept a starting position on the 1938 AL team and did not play (the NL won 4–1). He led the league in runs scored (144) and at-bats per home run (9.6), tied for
9579-486: Was one of the few opposing players to publicly welcome African-American player Jackie Robinson to the major leagues in 1947. Greenberg was born on January 1, 1911, in Greenwich Village , New York City, to Romanian Jewish immigrant parents from Bucharest , Sarah (née Schwartz) (1881–1951) and David Greenberg (1883–1969). He was the third of four children and had two brothers, Ben (1906–1994) and Joe (1915–2001), and
9682-432: Was playing, I used to resent being singled out as a Jewish ballplayer. I wanted to be known as a great ballplayer, period. I'm not sure why or when I changed, because I'm still not a particularly religious person. Lately, though, I find myself wanting to be remembered not only as a great ballplayer, but even more as a great Jewish ballplayer. In his autobiography, Greenberg wrote that he used the antisemitism that he faced as
9785-525: Was recruited by the New York Yankees , who already had Lou Gehrig at first base. As first base was already taken on the Yankee team, Greenberg turned down the Yankees' offer and instead attended New York University on an athletic scholarship; there, he was a member of Sigma Alpha Mu . During this time, he also had a tryout with the New York Giants ; Giants manager John McGraw , however, was not impressed by
9888-561: Was scheduled to meet and vote for the first time in December 2020 for the 2021 Hall of Fame induction. Maris is the 24th former player on the Hall of Fame rated list of 85 eligible candidates for the Golden Days Committee Ballot. In August 2020, the Hall of Fame rescheduled The Golden Days Committee winter meeting in 2020 to December 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic . The committee's ballot consists of ten candidates compiled by
9991-454: Was second in the league in home runs (40), doubles (49), total bases (397), slugging percentage (.668), and walks (102), third in on-base percentage (.436), and seventh in batting average (.337). Greenberg came in third in the vote for MVP, behind teammate Charlie Gehringer and Joe DiMaggio . A prodigious home run hitter, Greenberg narrowly missed breaking Babe Ruth 's single-season home run record in 1938, when he hit 58 home runs, leading
10094-401: Was that American League team rosters had become watered down, as players who would otherwise have been playing at AAA, if not lower, were now in the AL. In order to maintain a balanced schedule, AL owners extended the season from 154 games to 162 games in 1961. (The National League expanded its season to 162 games in 1962.) On January 23, 1961, an Associated Press reporter asked Maris whether
10197-573: Was the first Jewish superstar in American team sports. He attracted national attention in 1934 in the middle of a pennant race when he grappled with the decision of whether or not to play baseball on the Jewish High Holy Days ; after consultation with his rabbi, he decided to play on Rosh Hashanah , but refused to play on Yom Kippur , instead spending the day at the synagogue. Having endured his share of antisemitic abuse in his career, Greenberg
10300-423: Was the one taking the risk in learning a new position. Greenberg received his bonus at the end of spring training. In 1940, Greenberg switched from playing the first base position to the left field position. For the fourth consecutive time, he was voted by the season's American All-Star team manager Joe McCarthy to the AL All-Star team. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Greenberg and Lou Finney were sent into
10403-401: Was the only game he appeared in that year but, as a result, made him the youngest player (19) to appear in the major leagues in 1930. It was another three years before he rejoined the majors. In 1933, for the Tigers, Greenberg hit .301 with 87 runs batted in. At the same time, he was third in the league in strikeouts (78). In 1934, his second season in the majors, Greenberg hit .339 and helped
10506-513: Was voted in by the committee in 2014). In August 2011, George Vecsey of The New York Times called Maris "a terrific player for a few brief years". Vecsey wrote that while Maris had two seasons where he played at Hall of Fame caliber, and while Maris played in an era that was not influenced by performance-enhancing substances, he did not believe that Maris's career statistics were worthy of induction. In July 2016, four new committees were established. The Golden Days Era Committee (1950–1969)
10609-447: Was voted to the AL All-Star roster for the third year in a row and was a starter at first base, and singled and walked in four at-bats (AL won 3–1). He finished second in the AL in home runs (33) and strikeouts (95), third in doubles (42) and slugging percentage (.622), fourth in RBIs (112), sixth in walks (91), and ninth in on-base percentage (.420). After the 1939 season ended, Greenberg was asked by general manager Jack Zeller to take
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