The term HE BLASTED 61 IN '61 refers to the legendary baseball player Roger Maris, who in 1961 famously broke Babe Ruth's single-season home run record by hitting 61 home runs. Maris, whose last name is five letters long and can be found in the crossword solution MARIS, was a right fielder for the New York Yankees from 1960 to 1966. He was named the American League's Most Valuable Player in 1961 and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984.