Not long ago I came across the following trivia question: "Whose single season professional home run record did San Francisco Giants star Barry Bonds break in 2001 when he finished the season with 73?"
Easy one, I thought. The answer has to be Mark McGwire, who belted 70 homers for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1998 and in the process broke the old record of 61 set by the late Roger Maris of the New York Yankees in 1961.
But no, it isn't Mark McGwire. However, this is sort of a trick question because it asks whose single season professional home run record did Bonds break? Not whose major league mark did he beat? And there is a difference.
In any event, until Bonds's 73 round trippers in 2001, a fellow by the name of Joe Bauman had owned the all-time professional baseball record for home runs in one season with 72.
He accomplished the feat in only 138 games for the minor league pro club, the Roswell Rockets of New Mexico in 1954. What's more, Bauman led the league that season in a number of other categories: batting average(.400), total bases (456), walks (150), and RBIs (224).
Needless to say, Mr. Bauman had quite the year in '54. He had some other good ones as well.
In 1952, for instance, he batted .375, hit 50 homers and knocked in 157.
The following campaign, his batting average was .371 and he belted 53 four-baggers to go along with 141 RBI's. Then came his 72 home run season, and he followed that up with one more big year: 46 HR, 132 RBI's, and a .336 batting average.
The next season, 1956, at the age of 34, the pain from an ankle injury was such that Bauman decided to call it a career after only 52 games.
In nine pro seasons Bauman batted .337 had 337 home runs and 1057 RBI in 1019 games. But despite hitting more than 50 homers in a season three times (including the professional single season record that lasted almost 50 years) he never played in the major leagues.
» John White writes a sports column for two newspapers in Nova Scotia, Canada.
Also by John White
» Bob Feller: One of the Best
» My First Visit to Fenway
» Sam "The Jet" Jethroe
» More submissions
Posted May 26, 2003.
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