Teammate recalls authentic Aaron
Predictable, authentic, consistent and the standard-bearer for excellence.
That best describes the Henry Aaron his teammates saw and knew on a daily basis during his legendary MLB career. Those words apply both to Aaron the most feared player in the game during that time, and Aaron the person then and in the years to come.
He lived his life and went about his craft with the same unwavering business-like approach, humility and strength.
“Quiet confidence is how I remembered him,” former Braves teammate Tom House said of the Hall of Fame home run hitter.
Aaron never let his fame or anyone else’s status affect how he carried himself or how he treated them.
“Henry in the clubhouse and Henry as a teammate, you would never know that he was the superstar that he was,” House told USA TODAY in a telephone interview last week. “He was the most normal guy. Never noisy, always with a smile on his face. He would play Clubs and Hearts with the low-end guys like myself and Buzz Capra just like he would play Hearts and Spades with (future Hall of Famer) Phil Niekro and (AllStar) Ron Reed. He was comfortable to be around on the bench in competition.
“You really never even realized he was on the team until the end of the game when you realized he had three hits and a home run and threw somebody out at third base. He put up numbers in probably the most quiet and inauspicious way of any superstar I’ve ever been around.”
House holds the distinction of being the person who caught Aaron’s 715th home run, which broke Babe Ruth’s 40-year-old record on April 8, 1974, four games into the season. Aaron sent the blast to center field, and into the bullpen and right to House, then a young relief pitcher for the Braves.
House – now 73 and a renowned coach for pitchers and quarterbacks – chuckles and says, “Here’s the good news: That was the highlight of my major league pitching career. And the bad news is, that was the highlight of my major league pitching career. It got me in the Hall of Fame, it gave me a little notoriety. … It got me a little profile I would’ve never achieved had I never been in the bullpen at that time.”
Reflecting on the recordbreaking night, House recalled, “There was joy by everybody because we were all saying to ourselves, ‘It couldn’t happen to a nicer guy. But there was also a statement made, ‘This is what happens when you give your best every stinkin’ day and be authentic.’
“If you look back at the media coverage, he didn’t play the media game. He answered questions simply, and pretty much let his performance do the talking for him. That’s the best way I can describe what he was doing.”