Ford Frick was the Commissioner of Baseball. Formerly, before becoming a baseball executive, he was a sportswriter and a ghost-writer for Babe Ruth, who became Frick's friend. Frick's most controversial decision as Baseball Commissioner was not actually a decision. It was a suggestion that a "distinctive mark" be placed next to the record of anyone who broke Ruth's single-season home run record of 60 in a season now 162 games rather than the 154-game season for Ruth. Sportswriter Dick Young termed the distinctive mark an "asterisk. "When Roger Maris hit 61 homers in 1961, some of the public tore into Frick's suggestion, while other fans and commentators supported his suggestion. The baseball is in Excellent condition. Frick's clearly written signature is on the Spalding Official National League Baseball.