2. April 4, 1974 – Aaron hits #714
One of the most consistent home run hitters that has ever played the game, Hank Aaron made his major league debut in 1954. by the time the 1974 season rolled around, he was an “old man” in baseball standards, having turned 40 just two months prior.
However, the consistent Aaron, who never hit more than 47 home runs in his career, had worked his way to finishing the 1973 season with 713 home runs. It led to an offseason of terrible behavior on the part of sports fans throughout the country and the world who felt than a “colored man” was about to take one of the most hallowed records in the game away from one of its most legendary players.
Aaron spent the offseason opening piles of mail that included all sorts of vile comments toward him all due to the color of his skin. When it came time to open the 1974 season, the Braves were to be on the road in Cincinnati before a home stand. Aaron desperately wanted to sit out the first few games of the season in order to ensure he would hit the record-breaking home run in front of his home fans.
A fight with the commissioner’s office led to Aaron being in the Opening Day lineup, and he made the most of it, crushing a pitch of Reds starter Jack Billingham in the 1st inning with 2 runners on to give the Braves an early 3-run lead.
He would be removed for a defensive replacement in the two games in Cincinnati that he played, leaving Cincinnati with 714 home runs, and setting up this dramatic home run call by Milo Hamilton:
Next: Jackie