Aaron rose above threats to HR history
50 years ago, Atlanta slugger passed Ruth
ATLANTA — Hank Aaron refused to be intimidated by racist hate mail or threats during his pursuit of Babe Ruth’s home run record.
Aaron’s teammates, including Dusty Baker, worried on his behalf even as the future Hall of Famer circled the bases following his record-breaking 715th homer on April 8, 1974.
Baker, who was on deck, and Tom House, who caught the homer in the Atlanta bullpen behind the left-field wall, returned to Atlanta on Monday for the 50-year anniversary of the homer.
After sprinting from the bullpen to deliver the ball to Aaron at home plate, House found Aaron’s mother giving the slugger a big hug.
“You could see both of them with tears in their eyes,” House told The Associated Press. “… It was a mother and son. Obviously, that was cool. It was also mom protecting her boy from at that time everybody thought somebody would actually try to shoot him at home plate.
“So there were all kind of things. I gave him the ball. I said, ‘Here it is, Hank.’ He said, ‘Thanks, kid.’”
Baker referred to Aaron as a father figure or big brother who looked out for him as he began his playing career with the Braves. Baker and other teammates, including Ralph Garr, tried to look out for Aaron during the home run chase.
“We always felt the need to protect him, always felt that need,” Baker said last week. “I think we were more afraid for him than he was actually afraid, because he never showed any fear of the threats or whatever. It seems like it drove him to a higher concentration level than ever before was possible.”
Baker retired as Houston’s manager following the 2023 season.
Bob Hope, then the Braves’ media relations director, said Aaron would not be deterred by the threats issued late in the 1973 season as he approached Ruth’s record of 714 career homers.
“One time the FBI wanted to come meet with him on a Sunday and asked him not to play because they felt they had legitimate death threats on him,” Hope said.
“We went down to the clubhouse and sat down with him and Hank just said: ‘What kind of statement would that be? I am a baseball player. You guys do what you need to do to keep things secure, but I’m playing baseball.’ And I thought that was very reflective of his personality all the way through.”
Hope said most fan mail Aaron received was positive. “The hate mail was not pleasant, but there wasn’t nearly as much as you’re led to believe,” Hope said. “It was just a very, very small percentage of the fans were causing that problem.”