Opening day brings back memories from youth

Opening day holds a special place in the heart of OTW, not so much for the symbolism but a special memory that took place in my youth.

Growing up in South Carolina, a youngster couldn’t root for any team north of the Mason-Dixon line, or at least you weren’t supposed to, so you rooted for the Atlanta Braves, even though they usually weren’t any good in the 1970s.

But we had Hank Aaron, and that was enough.

The 1973 season provided some hope, despite Aaron’s advancing age, 39 at the time. That Atlanta team finished 76-85, an improvement of six games from the prior year.

Aaron hit an amazing 40 homers in 1973, amazing not just because of his age, but that he did it in just 392 at-bats. The Braves also had become the first team with three 40 home run hitters that year, with Davey Johnson pounding 43 and Darrell Evans hitting 41.

More importantly for 1974 opening day was the fact that Aaron stood at 713 homers, giving every Braves fan (and the rest of baseball) a whole offseason to think about 714 and 715 and Aaron passing Babe Ruth for the record.

Throughout the whole ordeal, of course, Aaron dealt with death threats, not just to him, but to his family.

Lewis Grizzard, the sports editor of the Atlanta Journal Constitution at the time, later revealed that he had written an obituary for Aaron if a worst-case scenario happened. Grizzard also reported countless phone calls to the sports department, many pointing out that Aaron had more at-bats than Ruth did in his career.

Aaron wasn’t supposed to play in the opening series at Cincinnati, but Commissioner Bowie Kuhn decreed that he would have to play at least two of the three games.

So on April 4, 1974, OTW faked sick and stayed home from school, knowing the game would be televised on a UHF TV station Ted Turner owned in Charlotte, N.C.

So No. 714 was just as important to this Braves fan as No. 715 — because Aaron didn’t disappoint. He hit a three-run shot in the first inning, with his first swing of the season, a line drive to left off Reds righty Jack Billingham.

In true Braves fashion, they lost 7-6, but it didn’t matter, because Aaron went 0-for-3 in Sunday’s game and would have a shot at No. 715 at home on Monday against the Dodgers.

It took two at-bats for Aaron to set the record, and it being a night game televised nationally because of a special request by NBC, OTW didn’t have to play sick to watch.

That this sadly will be the first opening day without Aaron around in my lifetime, it really brings back the memories.

Trivia question

What Braves player was on first base when Aaron hit No. 715?

He said it

From Aaron: “I never wanted them to forget Babe Ruth. I just wanted them to remember Hank Aaron.”

Trivia answer

Evans, nicknamed “Howdy Doody” for obvious reasons, was on first thanks to an error on Bill Russell. (Were the Dodgers nervous that night? Perhaps so, they made six errors, two by Russell.) Baseball historian James once called Evans was “the most underrated player in baseball history.” If Evans, a Pasadena native, were around today, he’d be sought after despite his .248 career average. Not so much because he hit 414 homers, but because when he retired after 21 seasons, his on-base percentage was .361. When he retired he was eighth in career walks and still stands 12th. He was also the first player to hit 40 HRs for a team in each league.

Bill