Walter Johnson once held the record for most strikeouts in a career. Everett Scott once held the record for most consecutive games played. Honus Wagner held the record for career hits.

They no longer do, of course. Not only were their records broken, those subsequent records were also broken. Nolan Ryan passed Johnson on the strikeout list in 1983 and now there are seven pitchers ahead of the Big Train. Lou Gehrig broke Scott's record in 1933 and Cal Ripken Jr. broke Gehrig's record in 1995. Ty Cobb broke Wagner's hit record in 1923 and Pete Rose passed Cobb six decades later.

	Roger Maris held the single-season home run record for 37 years.

Meanwhile, Barry Bonds hit his 61st, 62nd and 63rd home runs Sunday, moving himself another step closer to Mark McGwire's record while pushing Roger Maris and his former record total of 61 a little further into the dustbin of history.

Perhaps no athlete was ever so exclusively identified so long with one number as Maris was with 61. Gehrig was known for his record streak (2,130), but he also was known for the disease that bears his name as well as his brilliant Hall of Fame career. Joe DiMaggio's record 56-game hitting streak is not the only thing we associate with him, nor is Ted Williams only remembered for his .406 average in 1941.

But for 37 years, if you thought of the single-season home run record, you thought of Maris and if you thought of Maris, you thought of the home run record. The number 61 is so identified with Maris that not only was it the title of Billy Crystal's very good movie about Maris, it is inscribed on Maris' tombstone.

The number (and the infamous asterisk that never was attached to it) may have caused Maris a good deal of grief in his life but it also kept his baseball legacy alive, years after his career and years after his death. Without 61, he would be known for little more than being a good player for a brief period of time. Because of it, he was a household name.

Or at least, he is at the moment.

With each baseball that lands in McCovey Cove, the number 61 becomes decreasingly relevant and Maris' legacy diminishes. There were no national press hordes following Bonds each game when he neared 61 as there will be when he nears 70. There are no Bonds-Maris home run charts. The Maris kids are not in attendance at the Giants games.

Maris truly is yesterday's news.

That is the way of sports and records, both more perishable than Dodger Dogs. The cliché tells us that records are made to be broken and history tells us that once they are, their former holders are usually forgotten.

Today's fans know who Maris is and appreciate his accomplishment. Future fans will take little note of his old record and even less note of him. He is not in the Hall of Fame (nor should he be). McGwire holds the single-season home run record that was his for 37 years. Bonds holds the left-handed record that was his for 40. When an American Leaguer passes Maris' total (as one will some season), his name will drop out of the record book entirely.

Unless Crystal pumps out several sequels to "61*", in time, Roger Maris will be as little remembered as Gavvy Cravath.

In case you don't recognize his name, he's the man who held the home run record before Babe Ruth.

Jim Caple is a senior writer for ESPN.com.