Lawmakers want McGwire's name stripped from highway

ST. LOUIS (Reuters) - Missouri legislators want to give the boot to former home run king Mark McGwire's name on a St. Louis highway.

The lawmakers approved a bill Thursday that would revert the name of a six-mile stretch of Interstate 70 to the state's most famous author, Mark Twain, Trevor Fox, communications office director for the Missouri House of Representatives, told Reuters.

The state's House of Representatives approved the bill by a 143-9 vote and it will become law if signed by Governor Jay Nixon, Fox said.

The highway, originally named for Twain, was renamed "Mark McGwire Highway" following the St. Louis Cardinals slugger's Major League record-breaking 70-home run season in 1998.

San Francisco's Barry Bonds broke the record when he hit 73 in 2001.

McGwire, now a hitting coach with the Cardinals, admitted in January he had used steroids during his career. After the admission, some St. Louis residents called for his named to be stripped from the highway.

(Writing by Gene Cherry in Raleigh; Editing by Steve Ginsburg)