Hank Aaron is 80-years-old. Forty years ago today (April 8, 1974), the baseball great clubbed his 715th career home run to break Babe Ruth’s record.
Ruth was getting hate mail during his chase for Ruth’s record, so it was difficult for him to enjoy the process. But he will enjoy the pregame ceremony tonight in Atlanta, where the Braves will honor Aaron prior to the Braves home opener against the New York Mets.
The Braves will wear an Aaron 40th anniversary patch on their uniform sleeves this season.
Aaron finished his career with 755 home runs, a mark eventually passed by Barry Bonds, who clubbed 762.
The game wasn’t carried live nationally, but NBC did break into its normal programming to follow the chase.
Amazingly enough, the home run record wasn’t the greatest achievement in Aaron’s mind. He holds the record of 2,297 RBI’s and never having 100 strikeouts in single season.
Today’s generation of young ball players didn’t get a chance to witness Aaron’s great accomplishments, but the history books and archived video’s are a great source for everyone to either see for the first time, or go back in time and relive the memory.