Baseball is a game of inches, but it is also a game of numbers. On April 8, 1974, Number 44 hit Number 715.
Every baseball fan in America knew what that meant: Hank Aaron had just surpassed Babe Ruth to claim the career home-run record. The Atlanta Constitution showcased Aaron’s feat on its front page, reporting, “Undaunted by the swirl of controversy surrounding his quest for baseball immortality, Hank Aaron became the game’s all-time home run king Monday night when he smashed his 715th.”1
Number 714 had been hit just four days earlier, on Opening Day in Cincinnati.
A sellout crowd of 53,775 packed Atlanta Stadium for the chance to watch Aaron break what he himself called “the Cadillac of baseball records.”2 By all accounts, this was the largest home crowd to see the Braves since the team arrived from Milwaukee. Anticipation was high in this, Atlanta’s home opener. Mrs. Herbert Aaron, Hank’s mother, bragged to the press, “He does what his momma tells him and I told him to go out there tonight and hit. He’s going to hit it tonight.”3 The fans, including Governor Jimmy Carter, Mayor Maynard Jackson, and entertainer Sammy Davis Jr., were hoping she was right. They all braved the cold weather and tornado warnings to hear Pearl Bailey sing the National Anthem and to then watch history being made.
Another Number 44, Al Downing, was pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Atlanta countered with Ron Reed.