APRIL 8, 1974 | ATLANTA, GEORGIA – Henry Aaron saved the best for the home town crowd. Four days after tying Babe Ruth‘s career home run record of 714 on the road in Cincinnati, Hammerin Hank broke the record before hysterical Atlanta Braves‘ fans at Fulton County Coliseum. He hit the 715th home run of his career off Los Angeles Dodger hurler Al Downing. April 8, 1974 Aaron passes Ruth.
Aaron would go on the hit 755 home runs for his career. He hit the last 22 playing in the city where he made his major league debut. He played the 1975 and 1976 seasons for the Milwaukee Brewers.
The term "home run" was originally a descriptive one. In the early days of baseball, fences were generally farther out than they are today. The batter had to literally run home before being tagged out to hit a "home run."
Babe Ruth held the career home run record for 53 years, the longest of any player. Here’s a list of the career home run record breakers and total home runs the new record-holder finished that year with.
Year Player HRs
2007 Barry Bonds 762
1974 Henry Aaron 733
1921 Babe Ruth 162
1895 Roger Connor 124
1889 Harry Stovey 89
1887 Dan Brouthers 74
1885 Harry Stovey 50
1883 Charley Jones 33
1882 Jim O'Rourke 24
1881 Charley Jones 23
1879 Lip Pike 20
TOP TEN CAREER HOME-RUNS
1. Barry Bonds 762 2. Henry Aaron 755 3. Babe Ruth 714 4. Alex Rodriguez 696 5. Willie Mays 660 6. Ken Griffey Jr, 630 9. Albert Pujols 615 7. Jim Thome 612 8. Sammy Sosa 609 10. Frank Robinson 586
The term “home run” was originally a descriptive one. In the early days of baseball, fences were generally farther out than they are today, so hitting a ball over the fence was rare. Inside-the-park home runs were more common because outfielders had more ground to cover. The batter had to literally run home before being tagged out to hit a “home run.” With home run number 715 on this date in 1974, Aaron passed Ruth. On only one of the 755 home runs did Aaron have to run as fast as he could.
Contributing sources:
Henry Aaron in the Hall of Fame
Career home run record holders
*2002