9781422284193

GREATEST MOMENTS

Aaron Passes Ruth

One player who knew a thing or two about hitting home runs was Henry Aaron. “Hammering Hank” played 23 seasons, mostly with the Braves in Milwaukee, then Atlanta. Aaron hit at least 24 home runs for 17 straight seasons and hit more than 30 fifteen times, which is a record. When Babe Ruth retired, he had 714 career home runs, one of the game’s most hallowed records. In 1974, 21-time all-star Aaron started the season with 713. Media attention was unprecedented as the country awaited the inevitable fall of Ruth’s 39-year-old mark. There was much negative attention as well, as racially motivated hate mail and death threats were commonplace for Aaron, a black man about to break a white hero’s record. Aaron persevered, tying the record with his first swing of the 1974 season in Cincinnati then breaking it on April 8 in front of his home fans in Atlanta. He retired in 1976 with 755 homers.

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