Early Life
Roger Maris was born Roger Eugene Maras on September 10, 1934 in Hibbing, Minnesota (only later changing his name to Roger Maris). Maris was the son of Rudolph (Rudy) S. Maras and Corrine (Ann) Perkovich, who were of Croatian origin. Roger Maris had a single sibling, a brother one year older, Rudy Maris, who died in 1992. Maris's family moved to Fargo in 1946 where Maris grew up. Maris's parents divorced in 1960; his father died in 1992. After Maris retired from baseball he moved to Gainesville, Florida, where his mother moved to from Fargo. Corrine died in 2004 at the age of 90.
Maris attended Shanley High School, where he met his future wife, Patricia, in the tenth grade, while both were attending a basketball game. Maris participated in many sports while in Fargo, and excelled at football and still holds the official high school record for most return touchdowns in a game, with four (two kickoff returns, one punt return, and one interception return).
Maris was recruited to play football at the University of Oklahoma but spent less than one semester on campus. Maris returned to Fargo and signed a minor-league baseball contract with the Cleveland Indians.
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