On April 8, 1974, Hank Aaron of the Atlanta Braves hit his 715th
career home run, breaking Babe Ruth’s legendary record of 714
homers. A crowd of 53,775 people, the largest in the history of
Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, was with Aaron that night to
cheer when he hit a 4th inning pitch off the Los Angeles Dodgers’
Al Downing.
However, as Aaron was an African American who had received
death threats and racist hate mail during his pursuit of one of
baseball’s most distinguished records, the achievement was
bittersweet.
Henry Louis Aaron (February 5, 1934 – January 22, 2021), nicknamed "Hammer" or "Hammerin’ Hank."
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