Emotions ran high as baseball came together at Truist Park to honor to life and legacy of Hank Aaron. The one-time home run king and Baseball Hall of Famer died last week at age 86.
Born in Mobile, Alabama in 1934, Aaron's baseball career began in the Negro Leagues in 1952 before playing for the then-Milwaukee and later-Atlanta Braves from 1954 to 1974 and for the Milwaukee Brewers from 1975 to 1976.
For those of us who watched him do it on television, it doesn't seem possible that it was 40 years ago tonight that Atlanta's Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth's career home run record. The number 714 was magical as it reflected the number of home runs Ruth had hit in his amazing career. For decades it was widely believed nobody would ever break the mark.
The Atlanta Braves are planning to honor the 40th anniversary of Hank Aaron's record 715th home run in a pregame ceremony before their home opener against the Mets on April 8.