Video: 'Roger Maris 1961 - 61st Home Run as Called by Red Barber, WPIX-TV, 10/1/1961'

(Sunday, October 1, 1961, 1:46 p.m. EDT) — Baseball player Roger Maris of the New York Yankees hit his 61st home run of the season in the fourth inning of the last game of the season (against the Boston Red Sox) today at Yankee Stadium in New York, breaking Babe Ruth’s 34-year-old record of 60 set in 1927.

Video: 'Roger Maris breaks Babe Ruth's Home Run record in 1961'

Maris hit the record-breaking homer off of Boston pitcher Tracy Stallard in the fourth inning in front of 23,154 fans. The run won the game, 1-0.

Maris’s home run record was controversial, as the previous single-season home run record (60, set by Babe Ruth in 1927) was set during a period when Major League Baseball teams played 154 games per season. Before Maris broke Ruth’s record, the American League baseball season had been extended to 162 games.

Video: 'The Story Behind The Story Roger Maris Breaks Babe Ruth's Home Run World Record in 1961'

Maris hit his 61st home run in the last game of the season, which led to questions about the legitimacy of his record.

In 1998, Mark McGwire set a new MLB record with 70 home runs; in 2001, Barry Bonds surpassed that mark with 73, though both players have been suspected of using performance-enhancing drugs to do so.

Maris continues to hold the American League record for most home runs in a season.