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In 1961, a young man began a year that would go down in history. His name was Roger Maris. Roger unfairly struggled this season with the ghost of what many Americans considered to be the greatest hitter in the history of baseball, Babe Ruth. As it became apparent to the world that Maris had a chance at breaking Ruth's seemingly impossible record of 60 home runs in a single season, America began to grumble. Who was this Roger Maris? Why did he think he deserved to break the "Great Bambino's" illusive record? To top things off he was battling his own teammate and best friend, the great Mickey Mantle for a shot at the record books. Unfortunately, many baseball fans had already decided that Maris was unworthy of breaking Ruth's record. Maris was only a .269 hitter. He didn't have the looks of Mantle or the personality with the press that Mickey had. If anyone deserved to break the record it was Mantle, not Maris.

Maris faced the world alone, or so it seemed. His own organization was somewhat against him breaking this record. To add even more pressure to this young man, he received thousands of death threats and threats to his family for going after Ruth's record. Fans would hurl objects at him onto the playing field. The press hounded him day and night and would make up untrue stories about Maris in order to discredit his worthiness even more. The pressure and taunting from fans and press began to take their toll on Maris as he began to experience physical symptoms of depression and stress.

To top things off, the 1961 season was the first year of expansion and the first year of the 162 game season. Ruth set his record in 1927 in a 154 game season. So many felt that Maris's record would be tainted if he didn't break Ruth's record in fewer than 154 games. To make matters worse, Commissioner Ford Frick even announced that if Maris took more than 154 games to break Ruth's record it would go into the record books as a separate accomplishment�with an asterisk. As the season went on and the record got closer, management of the Yankees even considered switching Maris in the batting order to give Mantle a better shot at breaking the record. The pressure put on Maris got so great that even clumps of his hair began to fall out. Finally on the last day of the season (game 162) he hit the great number 61. So Maris went into the recode books. But as promised his record was tainted with an asterisk and he was forced to share the record with Ruth.

Why were the people so set against him breaking Ruth's record? Maris said it best at the 1980 All-Star Game, "They acted as though I was doing something wrong, poisoning the record books or something. Do you know what I have to show for 61 home runs? Nothing. Exactly nothing." In surpassing Babe Ruth's supposedly unsurpassable record, Maris faced the hostility of the baseball public on several fronts. The baseball world looked at Ruth as an "Icon", a "Legend". Maris was "going against history" in breaking Ruth's record. Maris was "breaking tradition" when he hit number 61. Maris wasn't good enough to lace up Ruth's cleats. If Maris had listened to everyone else and never broke the record because he didn't want to taint history, "we" would not have had the history of Maris, now a "Legend" and "Icon" himself.

In 1991 the Commissioner of baseball ruled that their would be only one single season homerun record. It was given to Maris. Unfortunately, Maris died 6 years before that in 1985 of lymphatic cancer. The shame of it all is, Maris died never knowing he held the record all by himself.

Now many are asking themselves what this has to do with Southern Gospel music. It is very simple. Are we putting undo pressure on young groups that want to expand and broaden the genre by trying to keep them locked down behind our "Legends", our "Icons", and our "History"? What should have been the greatest year of Maris's life became one of the worst because of people's unfair limitations to what he could do. Are we ruining artist's lives because of unfair limitations as to what an SG artist can do or wear, or sing, or move, etc.? If anything we need to embrace some new ideas and some young blood because as Maris proved, records and history will be broken. What are considered youngsters and up and comers now could very well be tomorrows "Legend". How will these soon to be "Legends" perceive their careers? Maris wasn't looking for fame or to tarnish baseball history, "I never wanted all this hoopla," Maris said. "All I wanted is to be a good ballplayer, hit 25 or 30 homers, drive in around a hundred runs, hit .280, and help my club win pennants. I just wanted to be one of the guys, an average player having a good season." That's all these new progressive SG artists want. To do what they love. Let's embrace them, help them, and not kill them with harsh words and ideals that really don't matter anyway. Southern Gospel Music is one of the greatest things in the world. I just don't want to have to read a story like Maris's about an SG artist 20 years from now. It's time we all started working together instead of against one another. "A house divided cannot stand"

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