SN Archive (1974): Hank Aaron's 715th HR to pass Babe Ruth as told by teammates, opponents and Aaron himself

SN Archive (1974): Hank Aaron's 715th HR to pass Babe Ruth as told by teammates, opponents and Aaron himself originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

On April 8, 1974, Hank Aaron hit his 715th career home run to break Babe Ruth's all-time record. This article, 'A Touch of Class - HR Slugger Hank Aaron' by Paul Attner, originally appeared in the April 20, 1974 issue of The Sporting News.

ATLANTA - When all has been said and done, when Hank Aaron has hit his last home run, they will remember the Braves' star not merely as a powerful batter and an able all-round baseball player, but as a man.

They'll recall him as a warm, humble, prideful, conservative, private human being, not simply the player who broke the record that could not be broken, Babe Ruth's career home-run mark.

After the Braves' slugger tied Ruth's record of 714 by belting a home run off the Reds' Jack Billingham on his first swing in the season's first game, Aaron cared not to dwell on his accomplishment because his club had lost the game.

“That took the edge off,” he said. “If we could have won, I would have felt like celebrating. If we had won, I would have popped open the champagne and we would have had a little celebration in the clubhouse.”

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That tells you something about Aaron. His team comes first. So do his teammates.

“I'll be glad to get all this behind me,” he said. “I like the exposure, naturally. I'm getting a kick out of it, but I don't like the fact it is overshadowing the performances of such fine players as Dusty Baker, Ralph Garr, Dave Johnson and Darrell Evans.

“They had fine seasons last year, with some outstanding accomplishments, but nobody seemed to notice.”

That is Hank Aaron, too-compassion, especially for teammates.

Scoreboard after Hank Aaron passed Babe Ruth

Imagn Images

Most significant of all, perhaps, is the way he conducts himself on and off the field. The new home-run king, they say, doesn't have blood running through his veins; he has ice water. An earthquake could be meeting a tornado head-on and he would say cool it.

“The thing I'll always remember about him,” said Braves' third baseman Darrell Evans, “is the way he handles himself. That's the biggest thing. Nobody else could go through this kind of pressure-nobody.

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“He is amazing. And you know something else? None of this has changed him as a person.”

Nor could it, people close to him say.

“Hank is super person,” said Eddie Mathews, who has served as player, coach and manager with the man who's supplanting Ruth at the top of the home-run list. “He was that way when he broke in as a young player, and he's still that way.

“Oh, he's more mature, knows his way around now, but he's still just Hank Aaron, and that's good.”

Traveling Secretary Don Davidson, who along with Mathews, has known Aaron longer than anyone else connected with the Braves, draws on a cliche to describe the veteran star.

“His hat size,” said Davidson, “never has changed.”

Still, as his pursuit of Ruth's record neared its close, the thing that stood out most about Aaron was his composure. He hardly took a step but what a newsman was at his heels. Every batting practice swing was recorded. Whatever he said was instant news, but he never panicked, never went off the deep end.

The last one is going to be my most important, not 714 or 715. That's the one I'm going to remember. That's the one that will mean most to me.

• Hank Aaron

And there was the controversy. All that controversy. Should Hank Aaron play in Cincinnati? Or should he not? Mathews ripped the commissioner. The commissioner rendered strong “requests” that Aaron start games in Cincinnati. Do this, do that. It became a maddening thing, even for those attempting to cover the chase of the record.

Aaron? He seemed to be less bothered by all than anybody. As something new seemed to happen with each passing day this spring, Aaron cordially met the press and told his side of the story.

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It amazed hardened reporters how calm Aaron remained through everything that happened. One quizzed him about it following his 714th homer to tie the record in Cincinnati.

“I realize that the only way I can play the game,” said Aaron, “is to do things my way. I can't get all tense and tight. Fortunately, when I'm on the field, I am able to shut out everything else. And when I'm hitting, I can concentrate fully on the pitcher.

“I don't know why, that's just the way I am. It's the way I always have been. When I was in school, my teachers used to comment about how I never got excited. I don't know that I got it from anybody-it's just me.”

Hank Aaron hugs his parents after hitting No. 715

Imagn Images

Don't get the idea nothing fazes Aaron, however. In 1970, when the Braves' star collected the 3,000th hit of his star-studded career, he was visibly moved. He wasn't trembling because it was cold.

Then, there was the magic homer, his 714th. Pitcher Tom House might have been one of the few to notice.

“The dugout response was something,” said House. “When he hit the ball, I heard somebody go, 'Holy....there it goes,' then it was pandemonium. The next thing I remember was Hank standing there with tears in his eyes.”

It got to everybody, even newcomers on the Braves, which is how Aaron affects people.

“I got goose bumps,” said Jack Aker, who became a Brave only this spring. “For the third time in my career, I got goose bumps. I got them when Catfish Hunter pitched a perfect game, I got them when they had Mickey Mantle day in New York and now I got them again.”

Aaron said at first that 714 was just another homer, a statement he later retracted. Asked if he felt a sense of history, the Braves' star replied, “Yeah. I feel like I'm sharing it. It's a great moment for me, for black kids, for every kid in America.

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“It's not so much that I'm hung up on records. I feel if anyone came along to break my record, I'd certainly be pulling for him.”

Would he have advice for that player, if and when?

“Yeah,” said Aaron, laughing. “I'd tell him to hang in there, roll with the punches.”

That's what he had to do. Hank Aaron went for the record with a touch of class, something he always has been recognized for by his peers.

“The best thing you can say about him,” said Reds' star Pete Rose, “is when you walk on the field and you're playing against Hank Aaron, you are in the big leagues.”

Looking that over, one finds it the ultimate compliment that one major league player can pay another.

There was an unspoken tribute when Aaron hit his 714th homer in Cincinnati. It showed up in a picture which moved around the country the following morning.

The picture showed Aaron about to step on home plate following his momentous trot to history. There waiting were a couple of

Braves and Reds' catcher Johnny Bench. All three had their hands extended, ready to congratulate Aaron. It revealed the respect opposing players have for the current home-run king. Aaron's blow put the Reds behind, 3-0, yet Bench was ready to congratulate his opponent.

“Hank Aaron,” said Reds' Manager Sparky Anderson, “had done the biggest thing in baseball here. And it couldn't have happened to a better man, a finer gentleman. That man has been a credit to the game, never a problem, never talking against it, always showing a lot of class.

“He's an amazing man.”

Now, the end nears for Aaron as far as playing goes. He wants it that way. He is tired of the travel, he says, not playing baseball. He is weary of packing and unpacking, of seeing his kids grow up without him, for he is a devoted father.

ALSO FEATURED IN THIS ISSUE (APRIL 20, 1974):

• Inside spring training with Hank Aaron
• Pitcher who gave up No. 714 describes the moment
• Why Aaron bemoaned the night tied Ruth's record
• Yankees manager Joe McCarthy compares Aaron and Ruth
• Remembering Aaron's final minor league season as a 19-yr-old in Jacksonville

He says he skill is turned on by the guessing games he pays with opposing pitchers, the challenge of swinging the bat against baseballs throw 90 to 100 miles per hour, but 21 years will be enough.

“I'm proud of my accomplishments,” he said. “Not just the home runs, but the fact that of a dozen major offensive records, Ruth, Cobb and I hold all of them. With a good season, I could have six records. I'd like that.

“But I won't hang around for records. It will be a sad day when I have to take off the uniform for the last time, but it's something every player has to face sometime.”

But first, Hank Aaron has a lot of games to play this season, and he had at least one more memorable homer to hit.

“The last one is going to be my most important, not 714 or 715,” he said. “That's the one I'm going to remember. That's the one that will mean most to me.”