Georgia Magazine - April 2021 - 9

Henry Aaron
by the numbers
By Jim Kelly

B

53,775

The sell-out crowd packed into Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium
on April 8, 1974, when Hank Aaron hit his 715th home run,
passing Babe Ruth's record.

44

Uniform number. In April 1977, the Atlanta
Braves retired the number. It's also the number
of home runs Aaron hit in a season four times.
He won the National League's single-season
home-run title four times.

20
NATIONAL FFA ORGANIZATION

Years between his debut with the Milwaukee Braves
(April 13, 1954) and his 715th home run (April 8, 1974).

35

Length in inches of the Louisville Slugger bat used
by " Hammerin' Hank. " It weighed 33 ounces and
was an inch shorter and 9 ounces lighter than the
bat Ruth used in his younger days.

Distance in feet from
home plate to the
left-center field fence,
where home run
No. 715 sailed out
after a fastball pitch from Los
Angeles Dodger Al Downing.
A small section of the wall
stands today at the site.

2

Two off-duty Atlanta police
officers were hired by the Braves
to watch over Aaron in the
outfield because of racist and
threatening letters he received
around the time he broke Ruth's
record. The ugliest of the missives
were turned over to the FBI.

97.8
percent
Percentage of the vote that elected
Aaron to the National Baseball
Hall of Fame in Cooperstown,
N.Y., in 1982. At the time, the
percentage was second only to
the vote for Ty Cobb in 1936.

Jim Kelly is a freelance writer from Gwinnett County.
www.georgiamagazine.org

8-9_GA_News_0421.indd 9

9

3/11/21 5:54 PM

BONNIE ANNIS

Records Aaron still holds for total bases (6,856)
and for runs batted in (2,297).

385

NATIONAL BASEBALL HALL OF FAME AND MUSEUM

6,856 and 2,297

ATLANTA BRAVES

755

His total number of
home runs in a 23-year
career. It's also the
address on Hank Aaron
Drive for Georgia State
University's Center Parc
Stadium (the former
Turner Field, where the
Atlanta Braves played
for 19 years). The street
named for him borders the site of the former
Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

Hank Aaron,
shown with
the Milwaukee
Braves between
1955 and 1957

ATLANTA BRAVES

aseball lost a legend on Jan. 22, when Henry " Hank " Aaron died at
age 86. Fans, family members, dignitaries and the Atlanta Braves
community commemorated Aaron's lifelong achievements
during two services in January.
His life was not limited to a single number, but his fame is forever
linked with one. Aaron was born Feb. 5, 1934, in Mobile, Ala., about
300 miles from the Atlanta stadium where, 40 years later, he would
break Babe Ruth's long-standing record of 714 career home runs.
" I just tried to play the game the way it was supposed to be played, "
Aaron said.
Let Aaron's numbers tell the story:



http://www.georgiamagazine.org

Georgia Magazine - April 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Georgia Magazine - April 2021

Contents
Georgia Magazine - April 2021 - Intro
Georgia Magazine - April 2021 - Cover1
Georgia Magazine - April 2021 - Cover2
Georgia Magazine - April 2021 - Contents
Georgia Magazine - April 2021 - 4
Georgia Magazine - April 2021 - 5
Georgia Magazine - April 2021 - 6
Georgia Magazine - April 2021 - 7
Georgia Magazine - April 2021 - 8
Georgia Magazine - April 2021 - 9
Georgia Magazine - April 2021 - 10
Georgia Magazine - April 2021 - 11
Georgia Magazine - April 2021 - 12
Georgia Magazine - April 2021 - 13
Georgia Magazine - April 2021 - 14
Georgia Magazine - April 2021 - 15
Georgia Magazine - April 2021 - 16
Georgia Magazine - April 2021 - 17
Georgia Magazine - April 2021 - 18
Georgia Magazine - April 2021 - 19
Georgia Magazine - April 2021 - 20
Georgia Magazine - April 2021 - 21
Georgia Magazine - April 2021 - 22
Georgia Magazine - April 2021 - 23
Georgia Magazine - April 2021 - 24
Georgia Magazine - April 2021 - 25
Georgia Magazine - April 2021 - 26
Georgia Magazine - April 2021 - 27
Georgia Magazine - April 2021 - 28
Georgia Magazine - April 2021 - 29
Georgia Magazine - April 2021 - 30
Georgia Magazine - April 2021 - 31
Georgia Magazine - April 2021 - 32
Georgia Magazine - April 2021 - 33
Georgia Magazine - April 2021 - 34
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Georgia Magazine - April 2021 - 36
Georgia Magazine - April 2021 - 37
Georgia Magazine - April 2021 - 38
Georgia Magazine - April 2021 - Cover3
Georgia Magazine - April 2021 - Cover4
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