Roger Maris Billboards in North Dakota Boast Fargo Native as Legitimate HR King

In an attempt to make Roger Maris a more prominent figure amongst baseball stars, a North Dakota billboard company has erected a pair of billboards with the slogan "'Legitimate' Home Run King" to promote their local hero, according to Minneapolis' Star Tribune.

The Newman Outdoor Advertising company has decided that between people not accepting Maris getting extra games to hit 61 and steroid users further clouding his place in history, they’d decide to rectify the situation with the billboards.

“He’s our boy—Fargo’s golden boy,” said company executive Russ Newman, who got to know Maris in the early 1980s “and became really enamored of him. He was such a gentleman.”

They also envision that these billboards could potentially help his Hall of Fame chances. The company is planning more billboards to this effect with potential slogans like “Who really belongs in the Hall of Fame?”

“We haven’t given up hope on the Hall of Fame,” he said.

North Dakota doesn’t have much, but one thing they have is Maris, and, damn, do they love him.

*Photo courtesy Newman Outdoor Advertising

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