What a marvelous moment for baseball. What a marvelous moment for Atlanta and the State of Georgia. What a marvelous moment for the country and the world. A Black man is getting a standing ovation in the deep south for breaking a record of an all-time baseball idol.
--Baseball announcer Vin Scully, April 8, 1974
Millions of Americans were glued to their televisions the night of April 8, 1974, waiting to see if Hank Aaron of the Atlanta Braves would hit career home run 715, putting him ahead of the mark set by Babe Ruth 39-years earlier.
Aaron did not disappoint. In the fourth inning, he slammed a pitch by Dodger Al Downing over the left field fence and history was made.
I was one of those millions watching that night, a high school senior in suburban New York City. Anticipating Aaron might set the record, I had my camera ready to take a picture off the television set. It worked. The picture is hardly great, but it has a special place in my memory.
Fast forward two years to June 26, 1976. Aaron is playing his final season and is now with the Milwaukee Brewers. Milwaukee is in New York for a series with the Yankees. I'm home for the summer from Franklin College and decided to go to the game at Yankee Stadium to get one last look at Aaron as a player. And wouldn't it be something if I could catch a ball hit by Aaron in batting practice.
The odds of that happening were not good. About 30,000 people went to the game that day and the prime spots to snag a ball in batting practice were jammed. I positioned myself in the first row down the left field line and waited for Aaron to take his turn in the batting cage.
Hammering Hank hit a ball right to my spot and a bunch of us reached down with our gloves hoping to get lucky. Somehow, the ball landed in my mitt. What a memento!
Here is that ball:
It's now eight years later and I'm working for WSB Radio in Atlanta. The Braves are having a pre-game ceremony to mark the 10th anniversary of Aaron's 715th home run. Arrangements have been made for a one-on-one interview with the baseball icon.
Aaron could not have been more accommodating as he recalled that historic day 10-years earlier. A mild-mannered gentleman who could knock the cover off the ball.
As part of the festivities that day, the now-retired Al Downing took to the mound and the also-retired Aaron grabbed a bat. Again, this time at age 50, Hank did not disappoint, hitting a pitch over the left field wall. The crowd went crazy.
Aaron's home run record would stand for 32-years. From Mobile, Alabama, Aaron came to the major leagues in 1954, seven years after Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier. He also played for a few months in 1952 for the Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro Leagues.
In 1973 and 74, as it became apparent Aaron would break Babe Ruth's home run record, he began to receive racist hate mail. But on that April night in 1974, America cheered as Hammering Hank rounded the bases.
Tom Maccabe is senior real time editor at WRTV.
