Jim Cantrell, known mostly on The Bleacher Report as a humor writer, decided to write seriously about this week's "Open Mic" question: What is sports' greatest accomplishment? Here is Jim's take on Hank Aaron's 715th home run.
On Apr. 8, 1974, Hank Aaron accomplished the greatest feat in professional sports history. By hitting his 715th home run, "The Hammer" broke Babe Ruth's career home-run record.
The homer was really no more amazing then the 714 that had come before it. A ball hurled by Dodgers' pitcher Al Downing twisted over the plate, and Aaron sent it on an arc that cleared both the outfield wall and the leaping Bill Buckner, who almost tumbled over the wall himself trying to stab it.
The eruption was immediate and explosive.
Fans stood and cheered wildly. Two of them entered the field to run with their new king. Even Henry's mother, the proud woman who had watched the hate and vitriol of so many racists beat down her beloved son for so many years, jumped onto the field to witness her son's greatest moment up close.
- B/R Ticket Guide
But make no mistake, it was not only Hank Aaron's greatest moment; it was sport's greatest moment as well.
Jackie Robinson had broken Major League Baseball's color barrier. It took a great man to withstand that kind of pressure, and Jackie was both great and good. A Hall-of-Fame player by virtue of his talent, but a Hall-of-Fame human being by virtue of his heart.
And there were others. They were all burdened with the unspoken imperative from their management and ownership: represent yourself with dignity and humility, and do it while being as productive as the best players on the team. The highest compliment for those players was to be good enough to be considered "one of the guys".
Change came slowly. Years after Robinson, many players were still threatened at the ballpark. Others received hate mail. Members of the media who dared to praise the black players' accomplishments on the field shared in the spoils of those same players, receiving their own death threats and hate mail.
Especially when they praised Hank Aaron.
Aaron was humble. He was a gentleman. And he could hit the cover off of a baseball like nobody's business. With every home run, he received more than his fair share of hate from the racists who did not want to see anyone, let alone a black man, break the Babe's record. But he kept hitting them anyway.
And the 715th time he did it was more important than any other home run ever hit.
Why?
Because it was the first nail in the coffin of hate and bigotry that plagued the game and hounded some of its best players.
It was a legitimate sports accomplishment, reached fairly, and earned through hard work and talent.
And it happened not in the editorial section of a city newspaper, or on a television sitcom promoting social justice and equality, but on a grassy field, peppered with men of unquestionable prowess, crowned by thousands of delighted fans, all cheering for another of their kind who had done the undoable.
They cheered that day for the colors of a man's baseball uniform, ignoring briefly the color of the man's skin.
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6 months ago
If anyone would like edit a shot of Hank Aaron into my story, I'd appreciate it. For some reason the system won't let me do it...
6 months ago
Great article Jim. I also, regard Hammering Hanks accomplishment as one of the most important in all of sport. Beyond the incredible courage it took for Hank to continue on in the face of MANY death threats (some thought he would never be allowed to break the record), the sheer endurance involved in that sporting acheivment in the days before steroids, yes, but also the more mundane and legal treatment that all players recieve today. In terms of racial importance, I think Joe Lewis' knockout of Max Schmeling in Nazi Germany was also a milestone, but at a time when baseball was truly the national pastime, Hanks' acheivements are unrivaled.
6 months ago
I don't know much about boxing, but I'm going to look up the Joe Lewis fight to read more about it. Also, I thought about adding Jesse Owens' name to my piece, but since it was about the MLB, I left him out. Still, his success in the German Olympics was a milestone as well.
Thanks for reading and commenting, Daniel. :)
6 months ago
Good article, I didn't even think about this when I was looking back at great games/accomplishments, but great job showing how Aaron helped unite a racist world. Kind of makes uniting a league look like chopped liver.
from 6 months ago
Thanks very much for reading, Joe.
6 months ago
As much as any record is, The Aaron shot didn't get the number one in my book.
Why?
Well, for different reasons. First of all, it took Aaron a lot longer to do this feat, than Babe Ruth did. The at bats, etc, Babe wasn't from this planet. Hank had about 4000 at bats more, to get the numbers, or, equal to about 8 500 ab seasons.
Secondly, Babe Ruth was a pitcher for several years of his career, and it wasn't until going to New York, that he turned to hitting full time. Even in the short span as a pitcher, he had almost 100 wins...something that would be unheard of, in this day and age.
As for the race issue, that's up to the author to decide, if that was a factor or not. Sure, he recieved death threats for challenging the record, but that's less of the baseball's fault, than some deranged fan's attitude towards black players. It sells papers, but in the rulebooks, it only tells left, right, or switch....not black, white, etc.
To me, the one record, that will stand the test of time, has got to the Cy Young. Pure and simple, unless a pitcher figures out how to pitch until he's, oh, 60.....will a person have a logistic chance at 511 wins.
Probably as well, go take a look at some of his other stats. No one, since the early days of baseball, has had 76 Shutouts. He's in 4th place, thanks to 3 other hall of famers.
749 Complete games.
815 games started.
7354 Innings pitched.
and over 30,000 batters faced.
This was the time, of iron men. Some records may fall.
But some, by either numerics, or the evolution of the game, won't ever fall.
from 6 months ago
Thanks for reading and commenting, Raider Card. You should write an article about Cy Young, I'd love to read it...
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