It Was FORTY Years Ago Today

[Labdad]

This is a repost of something I wrote ten years ago today. I think it’s worth revisting:

April 8, 1974. Opening day at the old Atlanta Stadium (before the name was changed to Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium). Hank Aaron had finished the previous season with a lifetime total of 713 home runs and was poised to tie, and then break Babe Ruth’s lifetime record of 714.

The Braves opened on the road in Cincinnati in ’74, and Braves management had floated the idea of having Aaron sit out the games in Cincy so he could both tie and break the Babe’s record in front of the home crowd. But Commissioner Bowie Kuhn would have none of that; he ordered Aaron to play, and as a result, the record was tied at Riverfront Stadium. (Then Kuhn didn’t even bother coming to Atlanta for the Braves opening series, the jerk!)

In the meantime, Bill, Scott, Tom, and I had been making plans. As soon as advance tickets for opening day went on sale, we pounced. Aaron’s homers generally went to left center field. We bought four tickets in the first row in the outfield for each game in that opening series with the Dodgers in the area where we thought the homer would go. Earlier in the week, Sammy Davis, Jr. had announced he would give $50,000 to the person who caught Aaron’s 715th homer, so that he could then give the ball to Aaron. On our way into the stadium, the four of us made a solemn pact that if any of us caught the ball, we’d divide the money four ways.

It was a cold April night, with a hint of rain in the air. Aaron’s first at bat was uneventful. He walked in the second, and the crowd didn’t like it. “Pitch to him, dammit!” someone a few rows behind us yelled. The fact that he eventually scored on a Dusty Baker double and a Bill Buckner error (and in the process, set the National League record for runs scored) was less than satisfying.

In the fourth inning, with Darrell Evans on base, Al Downing’s first pitch to Hank was a ball, and a chorus of boos rained down on the Dodger pitcher. It was as though Downing had thought, “let’s get it over with,” because his next pitch was a slider over the middle of the plate. Aaron swung, and the ball came right at us! But it didn’t quite make the stands. It cleared the fence and landed in the Braves bullpen right below us. Braves reliever Tom House retrieved the ball (thus saving Sammy Davis, Jr. $50,000) In the meantime 53,000 people in the stadium went crazy. I’d never seen anything like it. I guess the ovation lasted a good five minutes, with strangers high-fiving and hugging. Two college kids jumped out of the stands, met Aaron at second base, and ran to third with him before they were muscled off the field. Presentations and speeches followed.

And then probably 40,000 of the 53,000 people left! It was a crummy night, but I always thought it was incredibly lame of those mere spectators (they certainly weren’t fans!). It was a shame, because what followed was a dandy baseball game. Aaron’s homer had tied the game at three. The Braves scored two more runs run in the fourth after play resumed to go ahead 5-3. But LA scored a run in the top of the sixth to pull within one. The Braves followed with two runs in the bottom of the sixth, putting them up 7-4, and that’s how the game finished. Aaron grounded out twice after breaking Ruth’s record.

Tonight, they will show that moment from thirty years ago over and over on TV. I’ll point to the front row in left center and say, “That’s where we were sitting – that’s us!” I’ll call Tom, Bill, and Scott and remind them (as if they could forget) where we were. I’m the only one of the four of us still living in Atlanta.

Were any other Dopers at that game? Who’s old enough to even remember it?

April 8, 2014: You can see a video of the homer here. We were in the front row just above the “Think” in the BankAmericard ad on the outfield wall. And, stick in the mud that I am, I don’t consider Bonds’ steroid-fueled 762 homers valid. Hammerin’ Hank is still king in my book!

[Ulf_the_Unwashed]

Very nice! I was 13 and watched the game on TV. Definitely a clear memory…

Did you ever read George Plimpton’s book One for the Record? It describes all the events leading up to the homer and the game itself, focusing on various folks who were tangentially (or more) involved: Kuhn’s poor behavior, a guy who streaked in Cincinnati, Tom House catching the ball in the bullpen, and so on. A short book, definitely worth a read (not that I’ve read it in the last thirty-five years, but I remember it well).

[Freddy_the_Pig]

I watched it on TV. Big whoop, you say. But, it was a big deal at the time. NBC ran Monday night baseball during summer rerun season, so they added an April game because of Aaron. And, that was it. If he hadn’t set the record that night, it wouldn’t have been on national TV. No one outside of Atlanta or the opposition city would have seen it live.

[That_Don_Guy]

I remember watching it as well. I also remember that, near the end of the 1973 season, NBC broke into its normal daytime programming to announce that Aaron had hit (if I remember correctly) #712.

I also remember that, when they had Aaron re-enact it years later, they found the original two guys who ran onto the field right after he hit it, and had them re-enact their run-on as well.

[kenobi_65]

@Ulf_the_Unwashed

Very nice! I was 13 and watched the game on TV. Definitely a clear memory…

I was 9, and remember watching the game with my father. I suspect that we didn’t watch much more of it after Aaron hit 715, but it’s one of my earliest distinct memories of watching a sporting event.

[AppallingGael]

Who knew that Bill Buckner made so many historic errors? I had Buckner’s autograph as a kid, btw, and though I didn’t have Aaron’s, I did once see him shake somebody’s hand. And yeah, I watched #715 on television.

[crypto]

I remember watching the game as a kid. It was a Monday night, if I remember correctly. I remember it being a school night, and being allowed to stay up to watch the game.
The best part of that home run? That school year, I finished with perfect attendance. My teacher gave me a poster of that home run, and on the back it had Ruth and Aaron’s stats side by side.

I had that on my wall in my bedroom for years. i used the ever-popular poster and pennant securer to walls before velcro. Fun-tak! (Anyone remember that blue stuff?)

I don’t know where that poster ended up, but It is quite possible it still exists somewhere. It will probably turn up after my parents pass away and the house is emptied. Hopefully, not for a long time.

[j666]

I barely remember it. I had no idea at the time there was any “controversy” about it.

But I must say that is one charming and gracious man. It is not easy to say “I am proud” quietly and humbly.