#61*

[dinosaursatemydad]

[hedleylamarr]

61* (2001)

[apicturespeaks]

61*, Billy Crystal

[tfc2211]

Play Movie ▶ 61* (2001)

[10pinkelephants]

[bobbyonboard]

yes, i am once again going through my barry pepper phase

no i will not be taking questions at this time

[baseballsisco]

On This Day in Baseball History April 8, 1978: One of the most influential men to ever serve Major League Baseball as an executive Ford Christopher Frick (December 19, 1894 -  April 8, 1978) passed away at the age of 83. 

Frick was never one to skirt controversy both as a writer and an executive. Frick was a sportswriter for the New York Evening Journal from 1923 -1934 covering the New York Yankees. Frick would prove to be so popular that when the National League President position became available, Frick won the election for the post that he would serve until 1951. A number of important events came about during his term as National League President.

Frick along with Cooperstown philanthropist Stephen C. Clark came up with the idea for a museum and Hall of Fame that celebrated the National Pastime of Baseball in the place where it was agreed upon by the Spaulding Commission of 1907 where Baseball had been born: Cooperstown, NY.  The National Baseball Hall of Fame would be christened on June 12, 1939.

Frick firmly supported the integration of Baseball and the removal of the “Gentleman’s Agreement” with the arrival of Jackie Robinson to the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. Robinson would don the Dodgers uniform on April 15, 1947. He believed in it so much that when rumors of a league-wide strike against Robinson’s arrival to the Majors, Frick threatened to suspend any player who decided on striking. The talk of strike ended and Robinson would become the National League Rookie of the Year at the end of 1947.

After his term as National League President came to an end in 1951, Frick would be elected the third Commissioner of MLB replacing Happy Chandler. It was in this capacity that arguably the biggest changes in MLB would come about. 

Frick also presided over the first change in National League cities since the National League went from a 12-team league in 1899 to an 8-team league in 1900. The Boston Braves would start Major League Baseball’s westward expansion when they would leave Boston for Milwaukee for the beginning of the 1952 season.  In his 14-years as Commissioner, MLB saw unprecedented growth in new markets with the following relocation/expansions:

1952 Boston Braves move to Milwaukee

1953 St. Louis Browns move to Baltimore becoming the Baltimore Orioles

1955 Philadelphia Athletics move to Kansas City

1958 Brooklyn Dodgers move to Los Angeles

1950 New York Giants move to San Francisco

1961 Expansion Los Angeles Angels start in American League

1961 Washington Senators move to Minnesota becoming the Minnesota Twins

1961 Expansion Washington Senators start in American League (replacing the original Senators who moved to Minnesota) 

1962 Expansion New York Mets start in National League

1962 Expansion Houston Colt 45′s (later Astros) start in National League 

Frick negotiated a number of media and broadcasting deals that helped to grow Baseball’s reach throughout the country. 

Frick’s most controversial decision as Baseball Commissioner came in 1961 when he decreed that unless Roger Maris would surpass Babe Ruth single season homerun record of 60 homers in 154 games, then it would be considered a separate record aka 61*. Why? 

In 1961, Baseball went from a 154-game season to a 162-game season. Maris hit his 60th home run in Game 159 and broke the mark on the final game of the 1961 season. Some attributed Frick’s stance to his being close friends with the Babe dating back to his sports writing days. The separation in the single season homerun record would cease after the 1991 season. Baseball Commissioner Fay Vincent would end the controversy by stating that Roger Maris was indeed the single season homerun record holder. 

Frick would retire in 1965 and would be inducted to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1970. Frick would pass away in 1978 and the National Baseball Hall of Fame would create an award given to broadcasters for major accomplishments to the game of Baseball. That award is named after Frick and is known as the Ford C. Frick Award. 

Asterisk aside, Frick goes down as one of if not arguably the most influential Baseball Commissioner in the history of the game. 

What to know more?

Ford Frick from the National Baseball Hall of Fame website 

Commissioner Ford Frick Biography from Baseball Almanac

Ford Frick by Warren Corbett from the SABR: Society for American Baseball Research website

Ford Frick, 83, Commissioner Of Baseball From 1951 to 1965 Obituary from the New York Times dated April 9, 1978 

Roger Maris: Still 61* after all these years by Steven Marcus from the New York Newsday website updated September 24, 2016