In 1961, Roger Maris was on his way to a 61-home-run season for the New York Yankees when then-commissioner Ford C. Frick ruled that to break the record of 60 home runs in a season set by Babe Ruth in 1927, Maris would have to do it in 154 games versus the 162 games of the current season.
Frick suggested that a “distinctive mark” be created in the record book, which ultimately never happened because records were not controlled by Major League Baseball until years later.
So, the first major asterisk controversy died out.
