Hank Aaron rose above racist hate mail and threats in pursuit of Ruth’s home run record 50 years ago

On Monday, the Atlanta Braves will rejoice the fiftieth anniversary of Hank Aaron’s 715th home run

ATLANTA (AP) — Hank Aaron refused to be intimidated by racist hate mail or threats while chasing Babe Ruth’s home run.

Aaron’s teammates, including Dusty Baker, anxious on his behalf whilst the longer term Hall of Famer paced the bases after his record-breaking run. 715. homer April 8, 1974 Baker, who was on board, and Tom House, who hit the homer in the Atlanta pen behind the left-field wall, will return on Monday for the fiftieth anniversary of the homer.

After running out of the bullpen to deliver the ball to Aaron at home plate, House found Aaron’s mother giving the slugger a giant hug.

“You could see they both had tears in their eyes,” House told The (*50*) Press. “…It was mother and son. Of course, it was cool. It was also the mother who protected her boy from – at that time everyone thought that someone would actually try to shoot him on the playground.

“So there were a lot of different things. I passed him the ball. I said, “Here it is, Hank.” He said, “Thanks, kid.”

Baker called Aaron a father figure or an older brother who looked out for him as he began his playing career with the Braves. Baker and other teammates, including Ralph Garr, tried to watch out for Aaron while chasing the home run.

“We always felt the need to protect him, we always felt the need,” Baker said last week. “I think we were more afraid for him than he was really afraid because he never showed fear of threats or anything. It seems to have brought him to a higher level of concentration than ever before.

Baker retired as Houston’s manager after the 2023 season.

Bob Hope, then the Braves’ director of media relations, said Aaron would not be deterred by threats made late in the 1973 season, as he was closing in on Ruth’s record of 714 career homers.

“One time the FBI wanted to meet with him on a Sunday and asked him not to play because they felt they were making a legitimate death threat,” Hope said.

“We went to the clubhouse and sat down with him, and Hank just said, ‘What kind of statement would that be?’ I’m a baseball player. You guys do what you have to do to stay safe, but I play baseball. I think it was very reflective of his personality throughout.”

Hope said that the majority of the mail Aaron received from fans was positive. “The hate messages weren’t pleasant, but there weren’t as many of them as people think,” Hope said. “It was just a very, very small percentage of fans that caused this problem.”

Hope and Baker remained near Aaron after Aaron’s profession and until his death in 2021 on the age of 86.

“One honor in your life that you don’t want is that when Hank died at his funeral, Dusty and I were the only non-family pallbearers,” Hope said. “When I realized that at the funeral, it was almost overwhelming.”

Wonya Lucas, Aaron’s niece and daughter of Bill Lucas, who became Major League Baseball’s first African-American general manager with the Braves in 1976, said she remembered “Uncle Hank” staying strong through the chase. She said that situation didn’t change even when threats led to police cars showing up at Aaron’s house and Aaron’s oldest daughter, Gaile, needed to return home from college.

“I certainly understood the gravity of the situation and the change in mood is probably a good word,” Wonya Lucas said Friday. “But I also remember his quiet strength, and despite all the conditions I described, I felt safe at home because I felt he made us feel comfortable.”

To commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of Aaron hitting his 715th homer, the Atlanta History Center will open to the general public on Tuesday a brand new exhibit honoring Aaron, which can remain open through the 2025 All-Star Game in Atlanta. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred is predicted to attend a preview of the exhibit on Monday.

Aaron’s bat and the ball he hit after the record-breaking home run, normally housed in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, will likely be placed on display Monday at Truist Park.

The goal of the Hank Aaron Invitational is to encourage highschool players from all walks of life to play at the following level. Hank Aaron Invitational alumni include Cincinnati pitcher Hunter Greene, who participated in 2015, and Braves outfielder Michael Harris II, who played in 2018.

Major League Baseball also supports other initiatives, including the Andre Dawson Classic, to advertise diversity in the game.

“For me to have someone who looks like me, who can be as successful as I am and do what he’s done, and the path he’s paved for players like me, it’s huge,” Harris said Friday.

Despite these efforts, the number of black players on major league rosters has declined. A study by the Central Florida Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports found that African-American players made up just 6.2% of players on MLB Opening Day rosters in 2023, down from 7.2% in 2022. Both numbers are the newest The institute’s reports were the bottom for the reason that study began in 1991.

The recent increase in the number of African-Americans being chosen in the primary round of the draft provides hope that MLB’s efforts, including the Hank Aaron Invitational, could make a difference.

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