Awards, Honors, and Life After Baseball
| Roger Maris's number 9 was retired by the New York Yankees in 1984. |
The Yankees retired Maris' number 9 on Old-Timers' Day, July 21, 1984, and dedicated a plaque in Maris' honor to hang in Monument Park at Yankee Stadium. The plaque calls him, "A great player and author of one of the most remarkable chapters in the history of major league baseball." Maris was on hand for the ceremony and wore a full Yankee uniform. His teammate Elston Howard, who had died in 1980, was also honored with the retirement of his number (32) and a Monument Park plaque that day. It is likely that the Yankees had waited to retire the number 9 until third baseman Graig Nettles, who had worn it since 1973, left the team following the 1983 season.
Maris owned the Budweiser distributorship in Gainesville, Florida in the 1970s and 1980s. He coached baseball at Gainesville's Oak Hall High School, which named its baseball field for him.
Read more about this topic: Roger Maris
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