Baseball Celebrates 25th Anniversary of Hank Aaron's 715th Home Run

Jet, April 26, 1999

On April 8, 1974, when Atlanta Braves' Henry "Hank" Aaron hit his 715th home run to eclipse the record held by Babe Ruth, there was hardly any celebration. Instead of congratulations,

Aaron received mounds of vile, racist and threatening hate mail which helped to ultimately make Aaron a bitter man. He keeps that mail as a reminder.

Aaron recently got the due he deserved 25 years ago. Major League Baseball marked the silver anniversary of No. 715 in a pre-game ceremony at Turner Field in Atlanta before thousands of screaming fans.

"You know 25 years ago ... when I hit that home run to beat the Babe's record, it was truly one of the most remarkable evenings that I have ever had in baseball," Aaron said. "But tonight tops it all. This is truly a wonderful day for me."

Numerous dignitaries attended the event, including National League President Len Coleman, Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig and CNN Chairman Tom Johnson, who donated $1 million to Aaron's Chasing the Dream Foundation.

Selig announced the creation of the Hank Aaron Award, which will be presented annually in tribute to the Hall of Famer's skills as an all-around player. It will be based on a combined number of hits, homers and RBIs.

Aaron holds career records in homers (755), runs batted in (2,297) and total bases (6,856). Aaron began his career with the Milwaukee Braves in 1954. The team became the Atlanta Braves in 1966. He was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers in 1975 and retired a year later after a 23-year career.

Also on hand to honor Aaron was Al Downing, the Los Angeles Dodger who pitched that fastball in 1974 mat Aaron smacked over me fence in left-center field in Fulton County Stadium for No. 715.

"I'm thrilled Major League Baseball sees fit to honor me," Aaron said. "There are very few people who have awards named in their honor. I was bitter 25, 20 years ago. I've aged, taken my mother's advice. She always said not to worry about things you can't control. I'm enjoying my grandkids now, enjoying my life."