Roger Maris Museum
Welcome to the Roger Maris Museum
 

Memories of Roger

Local Memories of Roger

Wayne Blanchard, longtime friend: Maris "treated his friends like one of the family," and when he came to Fargo "he came to see his friends."

Walt Seeba: Maris's brother-in-law, on Roger's humility. While out one night in Sioux City, Iowa, Seeba says "No one recognized Roger until five minutes before closing. Then we got out of there. But not before Roger autographed a Babe Ruth-autographed baseball for some guy." Seeba tells another story of being out for coffee in Kansas City after Roger had flown directly there to join his family after a Yankees game. Only after two patrons complimented Roger on his performance did Roger confess that he had two home runs and seven RBIs.

Bill Weaver: Calls Roger "just as humble as any human being I've ever met."

Jim McLaughlin: Remembers Maris as a "quiet person who, unlike a lot of famous players, refused to capitalize on endorsements, because it would invade his family's privacy."

Respect for Roger among the baseball community

Mickey Mantle: "I still see him in my dreams. We lived together, we kidded around a lot, we enjoyed our time out there. Roger was a hell of a player, a Hall of Famer for sure in my book."

Reggie Jackson: "I have so much respect for the man. For the mental part almost more than the physical. I mean, can you imagine what it's like to hit 61 home runs in a season? In New York?"

Bobby Richardson: "We played against Maris when he was with Kansas City and Cleveland. He knocked me down at second base. He was the best in the league at breaking up the double play."

Hank Aaron: "You know, I had to tell someone recently that Roger Maris was a damn good ballplayer. People think he had just one big year, but he was a very good ballplayer. I thought he was one of the best outfielders I have seen, and he was a very good clutch hitter."

Mike Shannon: "I never saw him make one mistake in the outfield. I played with him every day and I watched him. And when I played against him in the '64 World Series, the biggest surprise of the series for me was what a good centerfield he was."

Whitey Herzog: "You couldn't play right field any better than Roger did. He could make every throw, play shallow, and then go get the ball. Roger Maris is probably the best ballplayer to ever play the game who isn't in the Hall of Fame."

Tony Kubek: "One thing Roger had that players lack these days - more than some - was respect for the game and his teammates and the opposition."

Maris on Maris: "Sometimes I wish I never hit those 61 home runs. All I want is to be treated like any other player. I never wanted all this hoopla. All I wanted is to be a good ballplayer, hit 25 or 30 homers, drive in around a hundred runs, hit .280, and help my club win pennants. I just wanted to be one of the guys, an average player with a good season."

Final Resting Place

MonumentAfter a two-year battle with lymphatic cancer, Roger Maris died in a Houston, Texas, hospital at the age of 51. Roger is buried at Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery, 1502 32nd Avenue North, Fargo, ND. His diamond-shaped headstone depicts an image of the swinging left-hander with the caption "61, 61". At the base of the stone is the simple inscription, "Against All Odds."