1961: Sep. 3 Maris 53, Mantle 50. Mickey hits 2.

Part of a series that started with August 1, 1961.

Roger Maris and Yankee teammate Mickey Mantle engaged in a home race during a pennant race, both trying to pass the season record of 60 home runs hit in 1927 by Yankee Babe Ruth.

In 1961 the American League expanded from 8 to 10 teams and increased its schedule from 154 to 162 games. Both the 1927 and 1961 Yankees played one tie game. Both ties were in April:

Thursday, April 14, 1927 Third game of season.

Start Time: 3:30 p.m. Local

Attendance: 9,000

Venue: Yankee Stadium I

Game Duration: 2:50

Day Game, on grass

Philadelphia Athletics 9, Yankees 9 TIE after 10 innings

No home runs by either team.

Saturday, April 22, 1961 8th game of season.

Attendance: 14,126

Venue: Memorial Stadium

Game Duration: 2:09

Night Game, on grass

Second game of doubleheader, see First game. (Orioles 5, Yanks 3)

Yankees 5, Orioles 5 TIE after 7 innings

HR: Bill Skowron (1, off Wes Stock, 4th inn, 3 on, 0 outs to Deep RF Line). Only Yankee home run in the doubleheader.

Maris hit 2 in the previous game. Now Mantle comes right back with 2 homers.

Sunday, September 3, 1961

Attendance: 55,676

Venue: Yankee Stadium I

Game Duration: 2:42

Day Game, on grass

Yankees 8, Tigers 5

		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
	Detroit Tigers	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	2	5	9	0
	New York Yankees	3	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	4	8	10	1
WP: Luis Arroyo (13-3) • LP: Gerry Staley (2-5)
Winning Run scored with 2 outs

HR: Mickey Mantle 2 (50, 1 off Gerry Staley, 9th inn, 0 on, 0 outs to Deep CF-RF, 1 off Jim Bunning, 1st inn, 1 on, 2 outs to Deep RF)

After Arroyo blew the lead in the 9th, Mantle led off the bottom of the 9th with home run number 50 to tie the game. Bill Skowron won the game with a three run homer.

Yanks sweep three against Tigers at the Stadium to start a 13 game winning streak that blows open the pennant race. Now the focus returns to the home run race.

The 1961 Yankees had played 136 games. Remember those ties in 1927 and 1961 in April of both seasons.

Ruth hit number 44 Sep, 2, 1927 in Philadelphia. Yanks won: 90-37-1 = 128 games. But Sep. 6 & 7, 1927 Ruth hit FIVE home runs in three games: 93-40-1 = 134 games; Ruth had 49 and remained hot the rest of 1927.

Sep. 11, 1927 Yanks lost to the Browns at the Stadium: 96-41-1 = 138 games; Ruth hit number 50. He'll hit another 10 home runs in the final 17 games.

1961:

Tm	W	L	W-L%	GB	RS	RA	pythW-L%
NYY	90	45	.667	--	702	530	.626
DET	86	50	.632	4.5	716	558	.612
BAL	80	59	.576	12.0	615	520	.576
CHW	74	64	.536	17.5	646	610	.526
CLE	69	68	.504	22.0	624	622	.501
BOS	66	73	.475	26.0	634	697	.457
LAA	60	76	.441	30.5	612	648	.474
MIN	58	76	.433	31.5	593	656	.454
WSA	51	84	.378	39.0	541	662	.409
KCA	48	87	.356	42.0	566	746	.376