By Tom Hintgen

Otter Tail County Correspondent

Many older residents of Otter Tail County remember watching Fargo native and New York Yankees star Roger Maris play baseball against the Minnesota Twins during the early 1960s at the old Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, south of the Twin Cities, today the location of the Mall of America.

It was 40 years ago on Dec. 14, 1985, when Fargo native Maris passed away. He was only 51 years old when he died, after a battle with cancer.

This writer worked in the Fargo Forum newsroom in the early 1970s nightside with Bob Lind who later covered the funeral for Maris in Fargo. It was emotional and yet highly satisfying for Lind to interview Roger’s former Yankees teammates, including Mickey Mantle, who came to Fargo for the funeral at St. Mary’s Cathedral. 

This past summer Jeff Kolpack of the Fargo Forum wrote a story and took photos of Roger’s final resting place at Holy Cross Cemetery in north Fargo. Fans from across the country visit the Maris gravesite in the summer months, oftentimes leaving baseballs and other sports memorabilia. 

The Yankees and Maris won the World Series in 1961. That year the Fargo native and Shanley High School grad also won the American League Most Valuable Player Award and he surpassed Babe Ruth’s single-season home run record.

As a Gold Glove outfielder, Maris appeared in seven World Series, with his teams winning three of them. He ended his career in 1968 at St. Louis.

In 1983 Maris was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. In response, he helped organize the annual Roger Maris Celebrity Golf Tournament in Fargo to raise money for cancer research and treatment. The Yankees retired Maris’ number 9 on Old-Timers’ Day, July 21, 1984.

The Maris Baseball Museum is located at West Acres in Fargo.