As the crowd gathered at Fulton County Stadium 50 years ago tonight, the fans anticipated that history would take place. For one night, Atlanta was the center of the baseball universe, and Atlanta Braves star Henry “Hank” Aaron didn’t disappoint.
The media anticipated the night’s excitement, too. NBC covered the game live, and entertainer Pearl Bailey sang the national anthem. Aaron’s parents were there, as were luminaries like Sammy Davis Jr.
The fateful moment came in the bottom of the fourth inning as Aaron faced off against Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Al Downing. The first pitch was a ball, but Aaron smashed the second pitch into the bullpen in left-center field, where Braves pitcher Tom House caught it.
Aaron had hit his 715th homer, breaking Babe Ruth’s home run record, which had stood for nearly 40 years. Dodgers players shook hands with Aaron as he made his way around the bases. Two University of Georgia students, Britt Gaston and Cliff Courtenay, stormed the field and ran alongside Aaron. Gaston and Courtenay spent the night in jail for their stunt. The ensuing celebration delayed the game by 11 minutes.
Legendary Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully understood the momentous occasion. After a 22-second pause to let listeners take in the sounds of the celebration, Scully said:
What a marvelous moment for baseball. What a marvelous moment for Atlanta and the state of Georgia. What a marvelous moment for the country and the world. A black man is getting a standing ovation in the Deep South for breaking a record of an all-time baseball idol. And it is a great moment for all of us, and particularly for Henry Aaron, who was met at home plate, not only by every member of the Braves but by his father and mother.
Braves broadcaster Milo Hamilton had his own memorable call of the record-breaking round-tripper:
Charlie Russo of Savannah, Ga., was at the game, and he recently released his video of the home run and the celebration, during which he somehow made his way onto the field.
Since the historic moment 50 years ago today was a local story, I asked family and friends for their recollections. One friend at church laughingly told me that he had stories from that night, but he couldn’t remember them.
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Several members of my family went to the game. My parents were out celebrating their wedding anniversary, so they didn’t go. I was 16 months old — precisely the worst possible age to deal with at a game — so nobody took me. But I asked my family members about their memories and heard from a few of them.
My aunt Lori said:
Well, you know the baseball fan that I am. I only get into it when it’s the playoffs. Haha sorry. Billy Harold [my grandfather, her dad —CQ] failed with me. I won’t be much help, but I do remember the excitement building up when he was getting close to breaking Babe Ruth’s record, and I remember what a big deal it was to get to be at “The” game that we didn’t know for sure would be “The” game. The stadium was packed, and when he hit it, I just remember the crowd going berserk! I even knew what I was jumping up and down for!
My aunt Lisa weighed in as well:
I remember every time he got up to bat everyone was on pins and needles. Then when he did knock it out, like Lori said we jumped up and down. But I will say that I was more impressed that he got a standing ovation. It was amazing and then there were the two guys who ran the bases with him.
My cousin Karol had her own memories of the night:
I don’t really remember a lot. It was COLD! We were sitting down the third base line. We probably had 20 family members there. I remember him hitting it and someone running on the field. There was probably 10-15 minutes of people just going insane.
Aaron finished his career with 755 homers as a Major League Baseball legend and an icon for the Braves organization. On Aug. 7, 2007, Barry Bonds broke Aaron’s record and ended up with 762 home runs for his career, but many of us put an asterisk by his name in our minds. Of course, the worldwide record is Sadaharu Oh’s 868 home runs in Japan, and that’s an impressive feat. But there’s nothing quite as magical as the moment that took place just south of downtown Atlanta 50 years ago tonight.