Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV News
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsABFFPride MonthOutfest OutfrontsSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
Sign In
New Customer? Create account
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

61*

  • TV Movie
  • 2001
  • TV-MA
  • 2h 9m
IMDb RATING
7.7/10
17K
YOUR RATING
61* (2001)
Home Video Trailer from HBO Home Video
Play trailer1:01
1 Video
30 Photos
BiographyDramaHistory

Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle race to break Babe Ruth's single-season home run record.Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle race to break Babe Ruth's single-season home run record.Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle race to break Babe Ruth's single-season home run record.

  • Director
    • Billy Crystal
  • Writer
    • Hank Steinberg
  • Stars
    • Barry Pepper
    • Thomas Jane
    • Anthony Michael Hall
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    7.7/10
    17K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Billy Crystal
    • Writer
      • Hank Steinberg
    • Stars
      • Barry Pepper
      • Thomas Jane
      • Anthony Michael Hall
    • 140User reviews
    • 21Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Won 2 Primetime Emmys
      • 4 wins & 26 nominations total

    Videos1

    61*
    Trailer 1:01
    Watch 61*

    Photos30

    Barry Pepper in 61* (2001)
    William S. McIntire and Barry Pepper at the wrap party for 61*
    William S. McIntire and Anthony Michael Hall on the set of 61*
    Still photograph on the set of 61*.
    61* (2001)
    61* (2001)
    61* (2001)
    61* (2001)
    61* (2001)
    61* (2001)
    61* (2001)
    61* (2001)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Barry Pepper
    Barry Pepper
    • Roger Maris
    Thomas Jane
    Thomas Jane
    • Mickey Mantle
    Anthony Michael Hall
    Anthony Michael Hall
    • Whitey Ford
    Richard Masur
    Richard Masur
    • Milt Kahn
    Bruce McGill
    Bruce McGill
    • Ralph Houk
    Chris Bauer
    Chris Bauer
    • Bob Cerv
    Jennifer Crystal Foley
    Jennifer Crystal Foley
    • Pat Maris ('61)
    Christopher McDonald
    Christopher McDonald
    • Mel Allen
    Bob Gunton
    Bob Gunton
    • Dan Topping
    Donald Moffat
    Donald Moffat
    • Ford Frick
    Joe Grifasi
    Joe Grifasi
    • Phil Rizzuto
    Peter Jacobson
    Peter Jacobson
    • Artie Green
    Seymour Cassel
    Seymour Cassel
    • Sam Simon
    Robert Joy
    Robert Joy
    • Bob Fitschel
    Michael Nouri
    Michael Nouri
    • Joe DiMaggio
    Domenick Lombardozzi
    Domenick Lombardozzi
    • Moose Skowron
    Paul Borghese
    Paul Borghese
    • Yogi Berra
    Bobby Hosea
    Bobby Hosea
    • Elston Howard
    • Director
      • Billy Crystal
    • Writer
      • Hank Steinberg
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    More like this

    Eight Men Out
    7.2
    Eight Men Out
    Bull Durham
    7.0
    Bull Durham
    42
    7.5
    42
    For Love of the Game
    6.6
    For Love of the Game
    Sugar
    7.2
    Sugar
    Mr. Baseball
    6.0
    Mr. Baseball
    The Babe
    5.9
    The Babe
    Babe Ruth
    7.3
    Babe Ruth
    Cobb
    6.4
    Cobb
    Major League
    7.2
    Major League
    Touching Home
    5.7
    Touching Home
    Soul of the Game
    7.3
    Soul of the Game

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Because there was no accurate documentation of it, no one knew what the precise color of the Yankee Stadium seats were in 1961. When faced with this dilemma, production designer Rusty Smith was told that Billy Crystal had an old bleacher seat from Yankee Stadium. Though the seat was completely painted blue, Smith found one small chip of green on the seat that proved to be the true Yankee Stadium green.
    • Goofs
      When Maris is talking with his wife from a payphone after the birth of their son, he's talking on a payphone that is a single-slot model. In 1961, the three slot version (25 cent, 10 cent 5 cent) was still in use. The single-slot phone was not introduced until 1965.
    • Quotes

      Bob Sheppard: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to Yankee Stadium.

    • Crazy credits
      Yankee Stadium played by Tiger Stadium
    • Connections
      Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Driven/The Golden Bowl/61*/One Night at McCool's/The Luzhin Defence (2001)
    • Soundtracks
      Dream Lover
      Written and Performed by Bobby Darin

      Courtesy of Atco Records

      By Arrangement with Warner Special Products

    User reviews140

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    A Beautiful Friendship
    First off, I'm a lifelong Boston Red Sox fan and thus not much of a Yankees fan. However, this may be one of the best baseball movies, if not one of the best sports films, ever made; even though baseball fans know how the story ends, your emotions will be stirred and you will find yourself rooting for these two players whether or not you have a preference for pinstripes.

    Barry Pepper and Thomas Jane steal the show as Maris and Mantle, two Yankee teammates that form an alliance to help carry them through the turmolterous race to break the single-season home run record of Babe Ruth in 1961. While everyone from the press box to the peanut vendor appears to favor seeing the lovable Mick, even the commissioner of baseball seems to have an agenda against the misunderstood Maris. Trying to eclipse a mark of a legend against such adversity proves to be no easy task for either player, and the film does a great job of demonstrating the pressure that each player experienced from his own angle.

    Director and noted Yankees fan Billy Crystal obviously put his heart and soul into directing and producing this masterpiece and deserves credit for putting an honest face on the race to the home run record between these two legends. Most impressive was how much care was taken to make the actors appear to step comfortably into the roles of each player; Jane and Pepper appear and act so much like "the M&M boys" that it's spooky. Being a passionate fan of the game probably puts a bias on this review but, even if you don't know the difference between a squeeze play and a double play, it's a great story about friendship and facing odds.
    helpful•21
    1
    • harbormoon
    • Dec 13, 2004

    Top picks

    Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
    Sign in

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 28, 2001 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official site
      • HBO
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • 61
    • Filming locations
      • Tiger Stadium - 2121 Trumbull Avenue, Detroit, Michigan, USA
    • Production companies
      • HBO Films
      • Face Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 9 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    61* (2001)
    Top Gap
    By what name was 61* (2001) officially released in Canada in English?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2023 by IMDb.com, Inc.