Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth's career home run record
On this day · 8 April 1974
On a Monday night in Atlanta, Hank Aaron swung at a 1-0 pitch and dethroned a record that had stood for 39 years.
At 9:07 p.m. on April 8, 1974, Hank Aaron stepped in against Dodgers left-hander Al Downing before a sellout crowd of 53,775 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. In the fourth inning he turned on a 1-0 pitch and drove it over the left-center fence for career home run number 715 — one more than Babe Ruth, whose mark had stood since 1935.
Two fans sprinted alongside Aaron between second and third; his 65-year-old father outraced the field to greet him at home plate. The Braves beat the Dodgers 7-4.
“There’s a new home run champion of all time, and it’s Henry Aaron.”
The achievement was shadowed by hate mail and death threats Aaron endured as a Black man chasing a white legend’s record. “I just thank God it’s all over,” he told the crowd. He would finish his career with 755, a total that stood until 2007.
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