Overview
- Aaron hit his 715th home run on April 8, 1974, passing Babe Ruth for Major League Baseball’s career record.
- He connected off Dodgers pitcher Al Downing at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium before 53,775 fans as Milo Hamilton’s WSB Radio call etched the moment in memory.
- Anniversary coverage shares Aaron’s account of racist letters and death threats that left him fearful and changed his travel habits.
- He said he sometimes stayed in his hotel room, had meals sent up, and moved to and from the ballpark with security escorts during the chase.
- Aaron credited his mother Estella’s steady advice and embraced her at home plate, and archives also recall Vin Scully framing the ovation in the Deep South as a cultural shift.