61* Trivia Quiz

Answer: A chair

Some of the sports writers were embellishing their articles to improve ratings for their newspapers. They proceeded to smear Roger Maris (played by Barry Pepper), attacking him for every thing he did, thereby turning baseball fans against him. One fan was taunting him from upper deck in right field, where Maris played.

He lifted the chair he was sitting in and flung it at Maris, who ducked just in time. The fan was taken away by security.

Answer: Randy

Roger was on the phone with his wife, presumably soon after the baby was born. Roger asked, "Who does he look like?" to which his wife replied, "Babe Ruth." When his son began to cry, Pat Maris (played by Jennifer Crystal Foley)said, "You hear that, Roger? Your son wants you to hit a home run for him tonight." Roger commented, "Oh, honey, if it were that easy, I'd do it every time." Apparently it was that easy for Maris.

He went out that night and hit a homer for his new little boy.

Answer: Third

After the manager, Ralph Houk (played by Bruce McGill) switched Mickey Mantle (played by Thomas Jane) and Roger Maris in the lineup, Roger began hitting home runs. Mickey who was batting third was dropped to fourth and Maris was moved from fourth up to third. Mickey later joked that Roger was only hitting so many homers because he was seeing all the fastballs by batting in front of Mickey.

Answer: Pat received a threat that her kids would be kidnapped

After Pat received the threatening phone call, the police were called. They explained to the Marises that it was probably just a prankster, and that if a person actually had the intent of committing a crime, they wouldn't call to tell the Marises about it first. The police car stayed outside of the Maris home for the entire night and Roger politely declined Mickey's offer to stay over.

Answer: Roger Maris' bat

On her way to the game, when Mark McGwire was on the verge of tying Roger Maris's home run record, Roger's widow, Pat Maris, fell ill and was brought to the hospital. When visiting, her son brought the bat to her and explained that the Hall of Fame sent it because Mark wanted to hold it.

Answer: Eggs

Roger made eggs for breakfast which Mickey and Bob Cerv (played by Chris Bauer) both refused to eat. Roger convinced Mickey to try them after stating that the last few times he ate the eggs, he hit home runs. Mickey ate them after explaining that he was in a bit of a slump and would try anything.

When the two began hitting more home runs, Bob also tried eating the eggs, though he wasn't as successful as Mickey and Roger.

Answer: Bob Sheppard

The legendary Bob Sheppard began announcing at Yankee Stadium in 1951. He was given the nickname "Voice of God". He also became the voice of the New York Giants in 1956.

Answer: Mark McGwire hit his 62nd home run

The footage of Mark McGwire belting home runs while trying to break Maris' home run record at the beginning and at the end of the movie are archived footage. The announcers speaking at each game were Joe Buck and Jon Miller.

Answer: No

Clare Ruth (played by Renee Taylor) told Pat Maris that the Babe loved his single season home run record and that he wouldn't have been happy at all to see it broken. Mrs. Ruth saw Roger hit #60 that day but wasn't in attendance for #61.

Answer: Ford Frick

In 1961, the American League's season was extended by 8 games while the National League's season remained at 154 games. There was some debate as to the true intentions of Ford Frick's decision to hold separate records for Ruth and Maris. Some supposed that since Ruth broke the home run record by hitting 60 homers in 154 games, the commissioner felt it would be unfair to Babe Ruth if a record broken in 162 games was regarded in the same way as Ruth's record. This theory is suggested in the movie. It was also thought that Ford Frick (played by Donald Moffat in the movie) required the separate records for another reason. In 1961, only the American League played 162 games. The National League was still playing a 154 game season. Frick stated that he anticipated the American League's return to a 154 game season. He stated that holding the new records separate would make them unbreakable in a shorter schedule.

Whatever the reason was, the records were held separate. When the 154th game of the season came to a close, Mantle was out of the race and Maris only had 59 homers, just one shy of the record. He ended the season with 61 home runs. His record remained separated from Ruth's until 1991, when the new commissioner of baseball ruled that there would be only one record. Roger Maris died in 1985, 6 years before he was officially crowned the single season home run king.

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