Monday marks the 50th anniversary of the great Hank Aaron hitting a record-breaking 715 home runs in Atlanta. This feat not only broke a professional baseball record, but also broke the color barrier.
aaron’s hits Occurred On April 8, 1974, he faced Dodgers pitcher Al Downing in front of a sold-out crowd of 53,775 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, a game that Atlanta ultimately won 7–4.
“What a great moment for baseball. What a great moment for Atlanta and the state of Georgia. What a great moment for this country and the world. A black man beats the record of all-time baseball idol and gets a standing ovation in the Deep South. “I’m getting it,” legendary announcer Vin Scully said into the microphone as Aaron ran the bases.
When the ball went over the fence, the stadium erupted in cheers. Everyone knew they had witnessed the greatest moment in sports history.
“That was the best moment of my life,” Braves forward Ralph Garr said. Saidaccording to USA Today. “I don’t care if you’re talking about the first time you walked on the moon or anything that’s ever happened in this country. It’s one of the greatest feats on earth. Nothing beats the night Hank broke the record.”
“Hank and Babe Ruth are together in baseball history. What a blessing it was to witness that,” Garr added.
“He was a truly wonderful human being,” Garr continued. “Hank was a great baseball player, but Lord, he was an even better person. There is no better human being than Hank. He led by example and treated everyone with the same respect. He helped everyone, black and white, young and old. He helped everyone.”
“Hank Aaron left a legacy for everyone, not just minorities,” Garr asserted. “He was one of a kind. Somebody might come along and hit more home runs. Somebody might have a better career.”
“But I tell you, there will never be another man like him.”
Still, while we can now look back on Aaron’s accomplishments as a momentous moment for all Americans, the blatant and extreme racism has yet to be subdued as a national epidemic, and the loud and persistent attacks aimed at Aaron have not yet subsided. We must also remember that there were numerous threats. Will he have the courage in his life to break the home run record set by a white man?
Managers, players, and stadium security were searching for the “man in the red jacket” who was said to be prepared to kill Aaron if he broke Babe Ruth’s home run record.
“We were scared to death,” said Aaron’s teammate Dusty Baker. “We didn’t know what was going to happen.”
“We were scared to death,” Baker added. “Me and Ralph couldn’t even watch the game. We kept looking for the guy in the red coat the entire game. Hank acted like he didn’t care. But there was pain. I know that. It hurt a lot.”
Hank Aaron of the Atlanta Braves hit his 700th home run against the Phils. The 39-year-old outfielder is no closer than 14 home runs away from Babe Ruth’s record of 714 home runs. Aaron argued that the “magic threshold” of 700 books was just another number.
Aaron admitted that 2014 was a tense time for him, not only because of his sporting achievements but also because of the pressures of race relations.
“I was being thrown to the wolves,” Aaron said of how he was being treated in 1974. “Even though I did something great, no one wanted to be a part of it. I was so isolated. I couldn’t share. Even after Jackie Robinson, for many years, Baseball was really segregated. You didn’t expect us to have a chance to do anything. Baseball was for Shirayuri.”
“Now, here’s a record that no one thought would be broken. And all of a sudden, who else has broken it but a black person?” he added.
Aaron went on to hit 40 more home runs that season, finishing with a total of 755 home runs, a record that has only been broken once by Barry Bonds, who hit a career home run of 762.
In fact, the top home run records are so difficult to break that Aaron still ranks second and Ruth third on the all-time home run record list. Aaron holds several other records. His 2,297 RBIs and 6,856 total bases remain major league accomplishments.
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