April 8 – On this day back in 1974 Hank Aaron breaks Babe Ruth’s all-time home run record – IOTW Report

April 8 – On this day back in 1974 Hank Aaron breaks Babe Ruth’s all-time home run record

On April 8, 1974, Hank Aaron of the Atlanta Braves hits his 715th career home run, breaking Babe Ruth’s legendary record of 714 homers.

8 Comments on April 8 – On this day back in 1974 Hank Aaron breaks Babe Ruth’s all-time home run record

  1. Pretty sure he did it without PED’s too. Nobody would have caught Babe Ruth if he hadn’t wasted his first few years being one of the best pitchers in the game. Baseball trivia, of all the pitchers in major league history with 20 or more decisions against the New York Yankees, Babe Ruth has the highest winning percentage. He was 17-5, for a .773 percentage.

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  2. I was watching that game. Al Downing (also wearing #44) was the pitcher. A lot more exciting than watching the PED boys (McGwire/Sosa/Bonds etc.) do what they did. I’m glad that race relations are better now than they were then, despite what the SJWs would have you believe. Back then, the death threats Hank got were REAL, not self-induced insanity like today.

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  3. I was pulling for Willie Mays to break the Babes record first. Hank and Willie were and are true legends and ambassadors of the game.I admire both of them……Willie was SPECTACULAR in the outfield but Hammerin’ Hank was no slouch either….

    I remember where I was when this happened just like when we landed on the moon…..The pitcher that served up this dinger was Al Downing….Still got Al’s baseball card from 1962 when he was with the Dodgers…..GO PIRATES!!!…

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  4. Gosh that seems so long time ago. I recall it happening about one week before the USN transferred me from Amsterdam, NY to Pearl Harbor. Been a lot of places and did a bunch of different stuff since then.

  5. I saw it on TV also. As Aaron rounded 2nd base on his way to 3rd, a kid came out of the stands and ran up to him, and Aaron had to shove him aside.

    The kid maybe had no ill intentions, but Aaron did what he had to do.

  6. Aaron and Mays are listed as 180 lbs each. That was big for the 1950’s and 1960’s.

    Check out any MLB roster now and you commonly see weights of 250, 260, 270, 280 and even higher. There are usually a couple of guys at around 175 or so, usually lighter weight Latin men.

    All this extra weight can’t be natural. There is something not right about a ballplayer weighing 275 pounds. It is not necessary, and it is probably from drugs of some sort or over-lifting weights.

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