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5/4/05: Here are other state quarters with images that represent specific individuals:
4/27/05: Bismarck Tribune article about the three "official" ND quarter designs by AP writer Dale Wetzel.
4/22/05: I
sent an email message to a few state legislators urging them to have the
last line on
Roger
Maris's Teddy Roosevelt Roughrider Award plaque be removed in the
spirit of
SCR 4040
3/30/05: Received a transcript of an editorial
3/29/05: Bismarck Tribune article about the reinstating Maris as home run leader by AP writer James Warden.
3/25/05: A concurrent resolution (Senate
Concurrent Resolution 4040
3/23/05: Official versions of designs created by the U.S. Mint have been released. Vote for your favorite design just for fun (this is not a scientific or official state poll):
3/3/05: Visited the Fargo, North Dakota gravesite of the late, great Roger Maris (photo). See also "A Short History of the Single-Season Home Run Record."
3/2/05: The Hall of Fame Veteran's Committee once again decided not to elect Roger Maris to the Hall of Fame. Sixty votes were necessary for election, but Mr. Maris only garnered nineteen.
2/18/05: Letter sent to
Governor
Hoeven
2/17/05: Visit www.quarterdesigns.com and look in the 2006 area to view proposed quarter designs for ND. An image of the Roger Maris quarter is shown as an "Early Proposed Design"! You may also check out other states' proposed designs, how they will be chosen and how they seek public comments and even actual votes before a final design is selected.
Also on this day, an open-letter was sent to State Representative Nancy Johnson (Dist. 37 - Dickinson) via email. Read a response from Rep. William Devlin, received by email on 2/18/05.
2/16/05: The resolution urging the consideration of legendary ND hero Roger Maris for our state quarter got voted down in the House of Representatives 37 to 53 at 1:45 p.m.; thanks mainly to opposition debate presented by Rep. Nancy Johnson (a member of the Quarter Selection Committee, of course) and Rep. William Devlin. Rep. Maragos and Rep. Kretschmar spoke in favor of the resolution. The resolution would've needed 48 votes to continue on to the State Senate:
2/14/05: Contact all members of the North Dakota House of Representatives and urge them to vote in favor of HCR 3015 by sending email to ndlahouse@state.nd.us. This is a re-mailing service that will forward your message to all 94 state representatives at one time.
2/11/05: The House
Committee on
Political Subdivisions heard testimony on House Concurrent Resolution No. 3015
On this day, the committee voted 7-5 in favor of a "DO PASS" recommendation, so the resolution will be placed on the calendar and soon go to a full vote on the House floor.
2/05/05: Reply letter sent to
United States Mint Acting Assistant Director of Special Products &
Programs, April Stafford
1/30/05: James L. Ogle Sr., who wrote two books with Roger Maris during a reporting career that spanned five decades, died at age 93. He and Maris collaborated on “Roger Maris at Bat,” a homer-by-homer account of the 1961 season in which Maris broke Babe Ruth's record for home runs in a season, and a novel for young readers, “Slugger in Right,” based on Maris' life.
1/24/05: A concurrent
resolution (House Concurrent Resolution No. 3015
The committee includes representatives William R. Devlin, Gil Herbel, Donald D. Dietrich, Mary Ekstrom, Nancy Johnson, Lee Kaldor, Kim Koppelman, William E. Kretschmar, Andrew G. Maragos, Vonnie Pietsch, Dwight Wrangham and Steven L. Zaiser.
1/20/05: Former Governor
Ed Schafer has arranged for the N.D. Secretary of State, Al Jaeger, to
forward an enrolled copy of the "Roger Maris Hall of Fame Resolution" (HCR3006
Due to the diligence of Fran Gronberg, the Assistant Chief Clerk of the House, the required signatures were obtained and delivered to the Secretary Jaeger. A cover letter from Sec. Jaeger and four copies of the resolution were sent a by FedEx to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Four copies were also provided to Senator Conrad's Bismarck office. These four will be delivered to Conrad's office in D.C. to be forwarded to the proper folks at the Hall of Fame. We'll see what happens.
1/18/05: A draft resolution urging Governor Hoeven and the North Dakota Quarter Design Selection Process Commission to reconsider and submit an additional narrative design theme, “Roger Maris”, to the United States Department of the Treasury through the United States Mint under the 50 States Commemorative Coin Program Act was emailed to Rep. Martinson and Sen. Mathern. The suggested resolution was passed on to the Legislative Council by Rep. Martinson for official drafting.
1/11/05: Letter received
from Senator Byron Dorgan
1/10/05: A concurrent
resolution (House
Concurrent Resolution No. 3006
12/21/04: USA Today reports more than four-fifths (80%) of sports fans believe records set by athletes using steroids should be either eliminated or kept with a notation; and less than a quarter of them believe Barry Bonds didn't know he was using steroids. In addition, its no secret that Mark McGwire used Androstenedione ("Andro") during his career, although it was not banned by MLB. Hypothetically speaking: What if Sammy Sosa also used performance enhancing drugs or a corked bat during his 63 and 64 homerun seasons?? Would that mean Roger Maris's 61 in 1961 still stands as the single season record?... Something to think about!
12/10/04: Pat Maris, widow of the late great homerun champion, backs the idea to try to honor Mr. Maris by featuring his likeness on the N.D. Quarter. This information was provided by Kevin Carvell, a nephew of Roger & Pat Maris. Another Maris family member (on Mrs. Maris' side) sent me a Christmas card.
12/6/04: Roger Maris is included along with 24 other former major league players on the 2005 Veterans Committee Hall of Fame ballot. The vote occurs in January, with the results announced on March 2, 2005. Visit the Hall of Fame website for more information. Fans wishing to voice their opinion in support of Roger Maris may do so by sending a letter to:
Hall of Fame Veterans Committee
---> Click here to print a prepared
letter
11/29/04: Letter sent to
United States Treasury
Secretary John Snow
11/26/04: It is decided to contact the U.S. Treasury Secretary for permission to submit the "Maris Quarter" idea. In addition it will be necessary to contact Governor Hoeven to convince him of the merit of this idea since it is ultimately his decision. Sen. Mathern suggested that we have Fargo Bishop Aquila contact Gov. Hoeven.
11/25/04: I discovered that California plans to honor conservationist John Muir on their quarter due out in early 2005. This is another example of a state honoring an individual, however there is also a drive in Calif. to change this design to the one more popular among state voters. The popular design features a gold miner instead of the Sierra Club's first president, John Muir.
11/23/04: N.D. Legislative Council Code Reviewer, John Walstad states via email, "It appears that the decision on the N.D. quarter design will be beyond the point of influence by the time the legislature convenes... It appears a resolution to the Mint would have no effect..."
11/22/04: Contacted by former N.D. Governor, Ed Schafer who said, "I like your idea of having Roger Maris on the State Quarter. It would be great to give some attention to both Maris and N.D."
11/9/04: An idea to draft a resolution to support the "Maris Quarter" idea and propose it to the state's 59th Legislative Assembly is conceived. Rep. Bob Martinson and Sen. Tim Mathern would co-sponsor the proposal. John Walstad and John Bjornson of the State Legislative Council where contacted to research and draft the resolution.
10/05/04: Response received from Tim Mathern (D-Fargo) and Bob Martinson (R-Bismarck) in support of the idea. Representative Martinson forwarded a copy of my original message to Governor Ed Schafer.
10/1/04: Email message sent to all state legislators urging support of the "Maris Quarter" idea. The actual design narratives submitted to the mint by the Commission are listed below:
9/29/04: Letter #2 sent to
Lt. Governor Dalrymple
9/29/04: I received a call from Lt. Governor Jack Dalrymple. We talked for about 20 minutes discussing the Commission's plans not to include the Roger Maris concept in the designs submitted to the U.S. Mint. Due to legal restrictions, state's are not allowed to send in actual sample designs to the commission -- only narrative concepts. According to Mr. Dalrymple, the Commission submitted three narratives which emphasize "open space, rugged terrain, wildlife and agriculture." They chose not develop a narrative for the Maris Quarter. My response to this is presented in letter 'Dalrymple #2' above.
9/27/04: Letter #1 sent to
Lt. Governor Dalrymple
9/23/04: Received a letter from U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan which states, in part, "I appreciate you sharing with me your design idea to have the likeness of Roger Maris on the N.D. quarter... I will be following it closely to ensure that N.D.'s heritage is accurately represented."
9/20/04: Letter sent to
Governor
Hoeven
9/8/04: Associated Press (AP) releases article about the "Maris Quarter" idea nationwide.
9/2/04: Bismarck Tribune article about the "Maris Quarter" idea by Lauren Donovan.
9/2/04: Second interview with KFGO-AM in Fargo (interviewed by Don Haney).
9/1/04: Received a letter from U.S. Senator Kent Conrad which states, in part, "Roger Maris is symbolic of the talent that N.D. has produced and I share your respect for the baseball legend."
9/1/04: Radio interview with KFYR-AM in Bismarck (interviewed by Phil Parker & Jason Hulm).
8/30/04: Contacted Roger's nephew Bart Maris through the Roger Maris Official Website. He supports the idea. Also contacted Roger's nieces and nephews on Pat (Carvell) Maris's side of the family. They also support the idea.
8/30/04: First radio interview with KFGO-AM in Fargo to discuss the "Maris Quarter" idea (interviewed by Jack Sunday).
8/29/04: Contacted by USA TODAY Sportswriter Mel Antonen who said, "We would be interested in doing a story on this if the movement picks up steam."
7/1/04: Deadline for public design concept submission to the state commission.
6/14/04: My concept for a
design to honor baseball legend and North Dakota native Roger Maris is submitted to the state commission using their
Design Recommendation Form
6/1/04: The idea to honor baseball legend and North Dakota hero Roger Maris by placing the image of Mr. Maris slugging his 61st homerun on the commemorative state quarter is conceived. The design is based on an engraving on Mr. Maris's tombstone as well as the logo used for the Roger Maris Celebrity Golf Tournament. The idea to feature Mr. Maris on the State Quarter is especially important because he has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.
4/7/04: Governor Hoeven
issues
Executive Order 2004-04 |
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The sentence in question reads, "Maris held the major league home run
record until 1998, when Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals broke it."
