62! Congrats, Mark!
June 21, 1999 | Baseball
September 8, 1998
ST. LOUIS - Former Trojan and current St. Louis Cardinal slugger Mark McGwire made history on Tuesday night when he hit his 62nd home run of the season, breaking one of baseball's most hallowed records.
He eclipsed Roger Maris' mark of 61, set back in 1961.
McGwire hit No. 62 against the Chicago Cubs' Steve Trachsel in the fourth inning.
McGwire played at USC from 1982-84. He was actually recruited as a pitcher and fared well in that role for two seasons, but also became USC's all-time home run hitter with 54 in his career and 32 in 1984. Both are still school records.
As a junior in 1984, McGwire batted .387 with 32 home runs and 80 RBI. As a sophomore in 1983, he hit .319 with 19 home runs and 59 RBI. As a freshman in 1982, he batted .200 with three home runs and 11 RBI.
As a pitcher, he was 3-1 with a 2.78 ERA in 1983 and 4-4 with a 3.04 ERA in 1982.
His career totals included a .335 batting average with 150 RBI. He also holds Trojan records for single-season total bases (216) and career slugging percentage (.718).
He was an All-American first teamer in 1984 and the co-Pac-10 Player of the Year along with Oddibe McDowell of Arizona State.
McGwire, who played for legendary coach Rod Dedeaux at Troy, passed up his senior season when he was drafted by the Oakland Athletics with the 10th overall pick in the first round of the 1984 draft.
