August 7, 2021

ROGER MARIS MUSEUM

3902 13th Ave S, Fargo, ND 58103

“The Roger Maris Museum is a 70-foot display case museum in West Acres Shopping Center in Fargo, North Dakota.” Wikipedia

As a child one of the biggest names in major league baseball was Roger Maris. Maris broke Babe Ruth’s record of most home runs in one season when he hit 61 homers in 1961. I was fortunate to see Maris play against the Minnesota Twins in old Metropolitan Stadium, which was located where the Mall of America is today.

So, when I saw that Fargo, his home town, had a museum dedicated to him I had to go. When the city first approached Maris about establishing a museum in his honor he rejected the idea. He later came around, but it had to meet two criteria. First, it had to in a place that was accessible to anyone, and second, there couldn’t be an admission charge. The solution…put the museum in display cases at the local shopping mall.

At first, it felt kind of weird checking out the memorabilia while teenagers and other shoppers were walking by, but as I got into checking out the displays I became oblivious to the passser byers.

There were pictures, magazine covers, bats, baseballs, awards, trophies, uniforms, and so much more. Running along the top of the display cases were 61 numbered flags with the names of the stadiums where he hit each of his record breaking homers. There was a small alcove with a video running on continuous loop recounting Maris’ 1961 season. The seats in the alcove are actual seats from the old Yankee Stadium.

A person probably is not going to visit Fargo just to see the Roger Maris Museum, but if you’re in the area this is a great way to spend 30 minutes of your time.