USA TODAY International Edition
The Hammer makes one last trip to No. 715 spot
ATLANTA – The Hammer made one last trip to the spot where he hit No. 715.
After a nearly three- hour funeral service Wednesday that featured two former presidents, a longtime baseball commissioner and a civil rights icon, the hearse carrying Hank Aaron’s body detoured off the road bearing his name to swing through the former site of Atlanta- Fulton County Stadium.
That’s where Aaron broke an iconic record April 8, 1974, eclipsing the home run mark established by Babe Ruth.
The stadium was imploded in 1997 after the Braves moved across the street to Turner Field, replaced by a parking lot for the new ballpark. But the outer retaining wall of the old stadium remains, along with a modest display in the midst of the nondescript lot that marks the exact location where the record- breaking homer cleared the left- field fence.
A steady stream of baseball fans have been stopping by the site – comprised of a small section of fence, a wall and a baseball- shaped sign that says “Hank Aaron Home Run 715” – since “Hammerin’ Hank” died Friday at 86.
Aaron’s funeral procession went by the display on the way to his burial at South- View Cemetery, the oldest Black burial ground in Atlanta and resting place for prominent civil rights leaders such as John Lewis and Julian Bond.
The police- escorted line of cars passed near the gold- domed Georgia state capitol, went under the tower that displayed the Olympic torch during the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games, and headed down Hank Aaron Drive.
At the bottom of a hill, the procession took a sharp right turn toward the site of the former stadium. Aaron’s flower- covered hearse and all the vehicles that followed did a loop through the circular parking lot, which covers the footprint of the cookie- cutter stadium that became home of the Braves after they moved from Milwaukee in 1966.
It was a touching tribute that capped off several days of remembrances for one of baseball’s great players.
The funeral service touched as much on Aaron’s life beyond the field as it did his unparalleled baseball accomplishments, honoring his business acumen, charitable donations and steadfast determination to provide educational opportunities for the underprivileged.
About 50 people attended the funeral service because of COVID- 19 restrictions. Other sent videotaped messages.
“His whole life was a home run,’” former President Bill Clinton said. “Now he has rounded the bases.”