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"I don't want them to forget Ruth; I just want them to remember me!"
— Hank Aaron |
With 755 career home runs, Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth's record by more than 40 home runs. The last Negro League player to enter the Majors, Aaron joined the Milwaukee Braves in 1954, and moved with them to Atlanta in 1966. By 1969, his chances of breaking the Babe's record were in sight. As Aaron hammered closer to Ruth's 714 home runs, he received volumes of racist hate mail. On his first at bat of the 1974 season, Aaron slammed his record-tying homer. Four days later, on April 8, the largest crowd in Braves history jammed the Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. In the fourth inning, Aaron ripped a deep drive into the record books. The crowd cheered wildly as Aaron circled the bases and fireworks filled the sky. Traded to the Milwaukee Brewers in 1975, Aaron amassed a career total of 755 home runs, before retiring in 1976. Throughout his 23-year career, "Hammerin' Hank" was a slugging powerhouse. Aaron not only held the home run record, but also records for at-bats, total bases, extra-base hits, and runs batted in. Name: Henry Louis Aaron
Born: Mobile, Alabama, 1934–
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