who broke babe ruth's single season home run record first?

Answer 1

Roger Maris - 1961. And as far as I'm concerned it's still the record!! And by the way, Josh Gibson during his entire career only played in 501 games and hit only 146 home runs. His highest total in any one season was 17. He was a catcher and not a very good one. He might have been a better player if not for his drinking and drug problems. A perfect example of a legend created and gone completely out of control.

Answer 2

Roger Maris in 1961, hit 61 home-runs. Beating Babe Ruth's 60.

Answer 3

Roger Maris broke Babe Ruth's single season home run record in 1961 by hitting 61 home runs in a 162 game season (Maris actually played in 161 games). The Commissioner of baseball at the time, Ford Frick, placed an asterik next to Maris' name because everyone felt that Maris didn't break the record since Ruth had hit 60 home runs in 154 games. Many argued that the record could only be broken if a player hit 61 home runs in 154 games. Yet others argued that Ruth did not have to deal with night games and cross country road games (West Coast), as well as league expansion.

The asterik was not removed from Maris' name until Commissioner Fay Vincent did so following the death of A. Bartlett Giamatti in 1989.

Mark McGwire broke Roger Maris' single season home run record in 1998 by hitting 70 homeruns in a 162 game season (McGwire actually only played in 155 games). Sammy Sosa also hit 66 homeruns in a 162 game season that year (Sosa actually only played in 159 games) . Those records have been tarnished by the recent steroid scandal. In 2001, Barry Bonds broke Mark McGwire's single season homerun record by hitting 73 homeruns in a 162 game season (Bonds actually only played in 153 games).

Some say that if Ryan Howard hits 62 homeruns this year, that it will put to rest the specter of the steroid scandal, since there is now mandatory steroid testing in baseball. However, others claim that it is too soon for another player to break Maris' single season homerun record again.

There are many who only recognize Maris' single season homerun record due to the steroid scandal of the 1990's and early 2000's. Still others claim that since Maris didn't hit the 61 homeruns in 154 games to break Ruth's 60 homerun record, then Babe Ruth is still the single season homerun king with 60 homeruns in a 154 game season. Major League Baseball recognizes Barry Bonds 73 homeruns in 2001 as the official record.

Answer 4

Roger Maris hit 61 in 1961, however, for years, there was the controversy of having done it in 162 games as aoppsed to Ruth hitting 60 in 154 games.
McGwire hit his 62nd in game number 142 in 1998 to pass Maris, so for all reasoning, his was the more prominent feat than Ruth or Maris. Barry Bonds broke that in 2001 with 73 and he hit his 61st in game number 140.
Lost in all this--Sammy Sosa hit over 60 home runs 3 different years, but in none of those did he lead the league, but he certainly deserves being mentioned.

Answer 5

Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle fought it out in 1961. I wanted Mickey to hit it but he came up short. Maris hit 61 to break Ruth's record. The movie "61" is about the feat.

Incidentally Ruth broke his own record when he hit 60 and also lead the league in strikeouts that year, at least according to my Mother. She was a certified baseball nut.

Answer 6

Babe Ruth

Answer 7

If you want to be technical, Ruth himself did it. He set the single-season mark with 29 in 1919 (breaking Ned Williamson's 1884 mark of 27), broke it with 54 in 1920, again with 59 in 1921, and again with 60 in 1927.

Maris broke that with 61 in '61, McGwire with 70 in '98, and most recently Bonds with 73 in 2001.

Answer 8

Roger Maris in 1961

Answer 9

Roger Maris hit 61 home runs in 1961. Then came McGwire, Then Bonds.

Answer 10

Roger Maris