Help with Roger Maris AAA Statistics Please

[gonefishin]

Requesting statistic assistance from someone that is a true StatHead, as I am not. I'm trying to validate some vintage items that I own regarding Roger Maris' rookie year and his minor league record. I own a vintage 1956 Wilson Scorecard book that someone meticulously kept score of several games of the St. Paul Saints. Contained therein, are scorecards of games played between the St. Paul Saints and Indianapolis Indians. The book contains several scorecards from the Saints vs. Indians, but the one that I'm really interested in is the one pictured, a game they played on April 25, 1956. Of course, Roger Maris played in AAA with the Indianapolis Indians during their 1956 Junior World Series Championship Year (where Maris also drove in 7 runs in game 2) and began his major league career in 1957.

I have searched the internet but have been unable to find a game log for the 1956 Indianapolis Indians. I can find the season started on April 17, 1956 but not when their first game was. My scorecard is a record from April 25, only 8 days later. I'm trying to verify if I have a scorecard from his first AAA game (maybe the first on the road). I own his first game Cleveland Indians Scorecard and thought this would be fantastic if it was his first minor league AAA game.

I hope I didn't bore you and really appreciate any insight.

[commishbob]

Maris played on the 17th for Indianapolis which was indeed their opener. I was able to find the box score in the Sporting News archives via Paper of Record. See the screenshot clip below. I downloaded the complete page in PDF format if you are interested.

edited to add.. he homered in five trips

Screenshot (20240904-203517).jpg

[commishbob]

Looked a bit closer and he is mentioned in the write-up of the American Association openers on that same page.








Screenshot (20240904-204514).jpg

[gonefishin]

Amazing Bob, it so much appreciated! I searched and searched but just couldn't find anything. I wish I had the score card and ticket to that game! There were very few people there and Maris hit a home run - go figure!

I think the one I have is about as early as I will find. I have a soft spot for Roger Maris, and I think I always will. Gowing up in a tiny town in Arkansas I didn't have a chance to see him play except on occasion, on Saturday, on tv. Of course we cheered for the Cardinals, but secretly I always liked the Yankees.

I do have his opening day with the Indians, picture attached and an autographed 1957 Sohio picture pack, picture attached. The opening day scorecard from his first AAA game would have been a great fit!

Again, thank you.

[commishbob]

I grew up in the NYC area and my Dad was a lifelong Yankee fan. We went to many games during Maris' heyday with the Yankees. I saw him hit several of his '61 homers in person but neither his 60th or 61st. My Dad took me to the Saturday game the day before Maris hit his 61st which was unusual because once school started the day after Labor Day we rarely went to games.

My friends and I watched him hit his recordbreaker on WPIX the next day and that's something I remember very well.

Anyway, here is the box score from the game in your scorecard, the 25th of April 1956. Interestingly, they have the home team on the left-hand side which feels odd given the conventional right side I've been used to for so long. SABR gives me access to the Paper of record, it's a great perk and diving into old Sporting News issues can be a really fun time killer!

Screenshot (20240905-103340).jpg

[gonefishin]

Another big thank you!

You are fortunate to have such a great father and live in NYC and be able to attend Yankee games during that period.

Also, it goes to show the far reaches of baseball and the Yankees. I was born in 1952, and was living on a small cotton farm in Arkansas in 1961. Yet, about as far away from New York city as you can get in 1961, the kids I grew up with cherished Mickey Mantle, Stan Musial and Bob Gibson. We would argue about how many Musial's you would trade for a Mantle, or vice versa! Listening to Dizzy Dean, or Curt Gowdy on the radio was a highlight. Saturday baseball on tv was a big deal.

Funny that 2 kids like us, from very different parts of the USA, have some of the same hobby interests as old men!

Again, many thanks.

[commishbob]

I'm a 1952 kid as well.

Good luck with your Maris quest. I wish I had kept the game programs from those games at Yankee Stadium. I always bought (and have kept) the yearbooks. But the programs were tossed eventually. They'd be fun to look at now.