30 years ago today: Aaron passes Ruth

[Chrome]

I can remember watching the game on a small black and white TV in the kitchen ... I was 10, and really had no idea the incredible pressure he was under from bigots. Much later, I read his autobiography, and he included some stuff from the racist hate mail he was getting at the time. It was sick. There were death threats, the whole works.

Although I know I shouldn't be, I'm still surprised the MLB all-time home run leader gets so little respect nowadays. Going from the negro leagues to 755 home runs seems like it would get a little more attention.

[ghost of miles]

I remember watching it too, Chrome! I saw the Saturday afternoon game when he tied the record, and the Monday night game (correct?) when he broke it. I was 8 then--remember the "Oh Henry" candybar ads?

But how long till Barry "Booster" Bonds overtakes him?

Aaron played briefly for an Indianapolis team called the Clowns before signing with the Braves. I'm thinking about proposing an article about it to our state's historical magazine. It would be cool if I could interview Aaron himself for the piece!

Edited April 8, 2004 by ghost of miles

[Chrome]

I think your idea of doing a story is a great one.

Re Bonds: He's still got 96 to go ... it'll be interesting to see what kind of season he has this year. I wonder if he'll be one of those guys who hangs around too long trying to break a record.

And I think the Aaron game was a Monday Night Baseball telecast ... that's another blast from the past, huh? Although I love being able to see a lot more games on cable, there was something about the Monday Night ritual that I enjoyed. It seemed more special.

[Jazzmoose]

Thirty years! Wow...as this is my most vivid high school sports memory, I guess I can no longer claim to be "prematurely balding", eh? I've seen the television replay of this, but never really enjoyed it as I didn't see it on TV the night it happened, as I was at my after-school job. It was just the radio for me. Back in the late eighties a friend gave me one of those "talking baseball card" players with, among others, the Aaron card, and that had the radio call on it. I swear, it brought tears to my eyes to hear it again.

Chrome, I hear you about what Aaron went through. I was old enough to know about the death threats and all when he was going through it, but of course didn't realize the extent of the problem until I read the book. But when I think about Aaron integrating the South Carolina minors...well, not to be disrespectful, but Jackie Robinson doesn't seem quite as brave, you know? I agree that Aaron doesn't get the respect he deserves, just as Roger Maris didn't. The "Holy Ruth" is not to be taken lightly...

[chris olivarez]

It was a Monday game and I was fortunate enough to see Aaron hit it out. My next door neighbor wasn't as lucky he had to go after his wayward dog and by the time he got back Aaron had circled the basepaths into history and was my neighbor ever mad. . Poor Al Downing he had a solid career but all he ever hears about is serving up the pitch that hammerin' Hank hit out.

[ghost of miles]

Do any of you guys have misgivings about Bonds' probable breaking of the record? Should it be marked with a "supplemental" asterisk?

Seriously, though, where does baseball--where do all professional sports, in fact--draw the line when it comes to performance enhancement?

[JSngry]

What I remember most about that game was that before it started, my dad asked me if I thought that "tonight's the night". I cockily replied, "Of course - it will be the 2nd pitch in the 4th inning". He just laughed, and said something like, "I'm sure it will be. You're NEVER wrong, are you!" I was a cocky little fuck back in those days, and would pull shit like this and actually be right just often enough to be obnoxious.

Well...when the "prophecy" came to pass, I nearly passed out, and my dad just looked at me like, "what planet are YOU from?" I started to go into my "brag" routine, the old man said, "yeah yeah yeah, I know. Shut up and watch history". With a smile, of course.

My dad's dead now, but I can't see or hear the name "Aaron" without thinking of him and smiling, which is kinda what baseball is supposed to do for a kid's memory, right?

[Dr. Rat]

Do any of you guys have misgivings about Bonds' probable breaking of the record? Should it be marked with a "supplemental" asterisk?

Seriously, though, where does baseball--where do all professional sports, in fact--draw the line when it comes to performance enhancement?

1993 was the last time I really got revved up by baseball (Phillies run at the title). But what really changed things for me was the McGuire/Sosa run at 61, which I just knew, at one level or another was fake. It wasn't even good fake, it was a travesty. It was baseball by Disney.

I've never been able to come back and care.

I think baseball ought to put the last few years aside and just start over again with a clean slate.

--eric

[Jazzmoose]

I think '93 was the last year I was really into the game as well; the strike pretty much killed my enthusiam. No hard feelings; the magic just wasn't there any more. So I'm hoping Bonds doesn't break the record, for purely selfish reasons.

[DTMX]

I remember that game - I wasn't there but my house was about 20 miles away so we were Braves fans by default. My father was watching the game on TV and every time Aaron came up to bat he would drag me in from the yard and plant me in front of the TV. I'd protest (not a sports fan at 9 years old) and he'd say "Boy - you're going to appreciate when you're older". So I saw the home run (and the two guys that ran onto the field) and then went back to digging in the dirt with a staub or whatever was so important to me that evening. Over the years I've really grow to cherish that memory (as far as memories of TV go) - more so than watching the Braves win the World Series.

My father also made me watch Nixon give a speech one night (with the same "Boy - you're going to appreciate when you're older" spiel). It might have been a resignation speech, without an announcer yelling about what was going on it was a little hard to follow.

Hank Aaron's big in Atlanta (still). If you buy a BMW from his dealership he'll come out, shake your hand, and (maybe) give you an autographed ball.

[PHILLYQ]

DTMX,

Nixon resigned that same year, in August- perhaps you caught his resignation speech.

It's amazing all the crap that Aaron had to go through, not only in breaking Ruth's record but in playing ball in the minors and the Negro leagues. To go through all of that and still be dignified and not intensely bitter and sullen is a testament to what a remarkable person he is. His autobiography is highly recommended,an interesting read that sheds a lot of light on how baseball was in those days, and society, too.

[catesta]

Do any of you guys have misgivings about Bonds' probable breaking of the record? Should it be marked with a "supplemental" asterisk?

Reggie Jackson would answer that question......,if he they didn't put a gag on him.

[DTMX]

Nixon resigned that same year, in August- perhaps you caught his resignation speech.

Thanks PHILLYQ, that must have been it. I was too young to understand the significance of that situation - all I knew was that those Watergate hearings were getting in the way of my Brady Bunch watching.

[BERIGAN]

Funny reading some of the comments here, same types of memories in a way...

I remember him hitting some home run in 1974, but have a feeling it was the game tying home run. I was 7, and not a baseball fan yet. I was kind of upset seeing a bunch of balloons wasted just cuz some guy hit a baseball far!

I was at my Grandmother's house when I saw the hit...she was a big baseball fan, she even lived in an apartment with folks like Rogers Hornsby and other members of the gashouse gang! Wish I could have taped a few conversions with her talking about baseball before she died in 1979. I was a fan by then.

I also remember seeing Nixon leaving office, and like the Hank Aaron hit, didn't understand what was going on that day either!

Oh, Hank was on TBS with Skip Carey and Joe Simpson tonight for the first two innings...very interesting talk about bats he used, swings used by power hitters..the innings went too darn fast!

Lots of Hank Aaron dealerships in the ATL.

[Chrome]

I was at my Grandmother's house when I saw the hit...she was a big baseball fan, she even lived in an apartment with folks like Rogers Hornsby and other members of the gashouse gang! Wish I could have taped a few conversions with her talking about baseball before she died in 1979. I was a fan by then.

That's pretty cool ... once, when I worked in a bookstore, I had a great conversation with an elderly baseball fan who has seen Walter Johnson pitch!

That history stuff is one of the things I love most about baseball.

Despite 1993 (and all the other strike years) and despite living in the Detroit area, I remain a big baseball fan. It's like buying jazz CDs ... I just can't stop.

[Chrome]

Speaking of Braves baseball ... did anyone see their game last night? I saw about two innings, but with the sound all the way down on the TV (sleeping baby). What was up with the Brave uniforms?

I guessed they were some kind of "throw-back" jerseys to honor Aaron, but they didn't look "real." I mean, they looked kind of like I remember the Braves jerseys looking back in the 70s, but not exactly right. Kind of like a PT Cruiser take on the uniforms, if you know what I mean.

[Noj]

Big Hank swung some serious lumber!

[Chrome]

... and I guess that pic answers my question about last night's Brave uniforms, too.

[BERIGAN]

Big Hank swung some serious lumber!

You know, it looks like a big bat, yet he said he swung a 33 oz. bat!

[Jazzmoose]

I guessed they were some kind of "throw-back" jerseys to honor Aaron, but they didn't look "real." I mean, they looked kind of like I remember the Braves jerseys looking back in the 70s, but not exactly right. Kind of like a PT Cruiser take on the uniforms, if you know what I mean.

Believe me, a lot of things in the seventies didn't look real. It was a strange decade...

[Aggie87]

I remember being 9 years old in 1974, living in Japan. Hank Aaron came to Tokyo for a home-run hitting contest with the Japanese baseball hero Sadaharu Oh. My dad took me to this contest, which Aaron won, 10-9. The Mets were there for a game against the Japanese all-stars, and the contest was a related event, held the day before, if my memory isn't too shot.

Anyway, ever since, Hank Aaron has been one of my all-time favorites. Can't say a whole lot of other baseball players since those days has ever appealed to me. Like Jim, Aaron reminds me of good times with my father, who passed away back in '91.

-Erik

[sheldonm]

It was baseball by Disney.

I've never been able to come back and care.

I, on the other hand thought the McGwire/Sosa battle brought thousands of fans back to the game. Front page headlines, top story on many nightly news programs through out the season. I've been a big baseball fan for 40 years and thought it was great.

I was never a fan of Aaron's while a kid, probably because my best friend was (you know how kids are). I also remember watching him tie and break the record and have always been amazed at how little he is mentioned in regards to this feat! I went to a Braves vs. Reds game in juniior high and caught one of his foul balls during batting practice, still have it!

Ghost, you're right about the Indianapolis Clown. I met several of the former players at the NCAA Hall of Champions a couple years ago, they had a great exhibit of Clowns memorabilia, very nice.

Mark