October 2, 1974: Henry Aaron hits home run in his final game with Atlanta Braves

“It was the best of times,
It was the worst of times.
It was the age of wisdom,
It was the age of foolishness.”

Charles Dickens may have been writing about the French Revolution in his classic book A Tale of Two Cities. However, the oft-referenced literary phrase would also have described Hank Aaron’s last season as a member of the Atlanta Braves in 1974.

Aaron ended the 1973 season one home run shy of Babe Ruth’s record total of 714 home runs. Aaron tied him in the season opener on April 4, 1974, at Riverfront Stadium.

Indeed, it was the best of times when on April 8, 1974, Aaron clouted the 715th home run of his career, thus eclipsing the top spot held by Ruth since 1935. There was tremendous pressure on Aaron to break Ruth’s record. The ballgame, broadcast nationally on NBC, invited the country into Atlanta Stadium to witness history. If, that is, Henry Aaron connected on a home run. “Everybody expects him to do it every time now,” commented NBC broadcaster Tony Kubek. “It’s gotten that far out of proportion. People won’t take singles or even triples from Henry Aaron anymore. There’s a lot of pressure on Henry. He’s withstood it all.”1

In the bottom of the fourth inning, Aaron smacked Los Angeles starter Al Downing’s 1-and-0 pitch over the fence in left-center field and into the Braves bullpen. There, the historic baseball nestled into the glove of relief pitcher Tom House. The Dodgers’ Vin Scully observed, “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.”2

For the first time in his career, Aaron was not an everyday player in the Braves lineup. He started 89 games in left field in 1974, appearing in 23 more games as a pinch-hitter. Aaron, a .300 hitter as well as a great power hitter, found that hits were coming with less frequency. His average dipped to .216 by the end of April. “Sure, there were pitches that he wasn’t getting anymore,” said teammate Ralph Garr. “He was definitely missing a few, but that was what made him great to me. If you came around looking for someone to cry, you came looking for the wrong man.”3

On July 21 the Braves went into the All-Star break with a 50-49 record. They were in fourth place in the National League West Division, 14½ games behind first-place leader Los Angeles. Despite batting just .235 and hitting only 10 home runs, Aaron was voted into the All-Star Game as a starting right fielder, marking his 20th consecutive appearance in that midsummer event.

At the All-Star break, team President Eddie Robinson decided to make a managerial change, replacing longtime Braves great Eddie Mathews with Atlanta assistant general manager Clyde King. When he was asked by reporters if he wanted the managerial job, Aaron replied, “No way. That’s one job I don’t want.”4

Although Aaron at first said he was not interested in the position, he felt slighted that Robinson had not even asked. His brother, Tommie Aaron, was the manager of the Braves’ Triple-A affiliate in Richmond. He also was not considered to succeed Mathews.

After the All-Star Game, Aaron apparently had a change of mind. In an interview with Kubek, Aaron said, “I think they owe me the courtesy of asking me. I believe I deserved to be asked if I wanted it. And if they offered it to me, I would have taken it because there are no Black managers.”5

King, who previously managed San Francisco in 1969-1970, had the distinction of being the only skipper to manage both Willie Mays and Henry Aaron. The Braves improved their record (38-25 under King), but it was not enough to make a difference in the division standings.

The season dragged along to its last week. Los Angeles held a two-game lead over Cincinnati with two games to play. The Reds needed to sweep Atlanta and hope Houston could do the same against the Dodgers. The Braves ended the drama behind a four-hit, complete-game effort from Buzz Capra as the Reds were eliminated with a 7-1 loss.

Aaron had indicated that the 1974 season would be his last in Atlanta. He was in the final year of his contract, and the Atlanta brass was not forthcoming with an offer to him. There were vague offers of a front-office job, but his specific responsibilities were never defined. With the advent of the designated hitter in the American League in 1973, the speculation was that Aaron would return to his old stamping grounds and sign a contract with the Brewers.

There would be no “Henry Aaron Day” celebration at Atlanta Stadium. No pageantry, no fanfare for the franchise’s greatest player and the major leagues’ home-run king. Yes, it was an age of foolishness, as only 11,081 fans showed up for Fan Appreciation Night. But more importantly, it was a dismal attendance to say goodbye to baseball royalty. Aaron was on a streak of 19 straight seasons of smacking 20 or more home runs in a season. On September 18 he hit number 19. Now he needed one more to get to 20, and only one game to attain that goal.

To add to the occasion, Braves right-handed pitcher Phil Niekro (19-13, 2.45 ERA) was sitting on 19 wins. Knucksie, as Niekro was known for his mastery of the knuckleball pitch, would get the ball from King to try for his 20th win.

Cincinnati manager Sparky Anderson selected rookie right-hander Tom Carroll (4-2, 3.51 ERA) to start for the Reds. Carroll had won four games, then lost two straight since his call-up from Triple-A Indianapolis in July.

Niekro set down the Reds in the top of the first inning. In the bottom of the frame, Garr led off with a walk. Marty Perez followed with a bouncer to second baseman Junior Kennedy. However, Carroll missed touching the bag on Kennedy’s toss to first base, and the pitcher was charged with an error. Darrell Evans singled to center field to score Garr. Perez beat the throw to third base and Evans moved to second on the play. After consecutive popouts to Aaron and Dusty Baker, the Reds sent Mike Lum to first base via an intentional walk. Atlanta catcher Vic Correll made the Reds pay, smashing a double to left-center field and clearing the bases. The Braves led 4-0 after one inning.

Those four runs proved to be the only offensive support Niekro needed. The Reds sat Joe Morgan, Johnny Bench, and Tony Perez in the finale. With their division hopes dashed the night before, the Reds showed little resistance to Knucksie.

Lum added a two-run home run in the bottom of the third inning that extended Atlanta’s lead to 6-0. Rawly Eastwick, who was a September call-up from Indianapolis, entered the game in the fifth inning.

Eastwick breezed through the fifth and sixth frames. In the bottom of the seventh, with one down, Aaron stepped into the batter’s box. The small but vociferous crowd applauded loudly. On a 1-and-0 pitch at the knees, Aaron smashed the ball over the left-field fence and into the Braves bullpen. As he made his way around the bases, the public-address announcer informed the crowd, “That homer breaks Aaron’s own record. He now has hit 20 or more home runs in 20 consecutive seasons.”6

Aaron’s teammates flooded out on the field from their dugout to greet him. Overcome with emotion, Aaron couldn’t answer the crowd’s call for a curtain call. “Thrill wise, I’d have to rate the one tonight with the 714 homer and the 715,” said Aaron of his 733rd career home run.7

“I made a good pitch to Aaron, low and inside,” said Eastwick. “He hammered it.” Realizing what he had just said, Eastwick added, “Gee, that’s his nickname, isn’t it?”8

The Braves added six more runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. Two of the runs scored on a double by Niekro. The final score was a 13-0 thumping. Niekro (20-13) hurled a four-hit complete game, his sixth of the season, and won 20 games for the second time in his career.

On November 2, 1974, Aaron was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers for outfielder Dave May and a player to be named later. When May’s wife informed him of the trade, he thought he was hearing things. “Me for Hank Aaron? I had to call her back to make sure I heard it right.”9

SOURCES

The author accessed Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org for box scores, play-by-play, and other data:

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/ATL/ATL197410020.shtml

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1974/B10020ATL1974.htm

NOTES

1  Howard Bryant, The Last Hero: A Life of Henry Aaron (New York: Pantheon Books, 2010), 391.

2  Bryant, 396.

3  Bryant, 403.

4  Jesse Outlar, “Obviously, Braves Need to Change Lot More Than Manager,” Atlanta Constitution, July 22, 1974: 1-D.

5  Bryant, 412.

6  Earl Lawson, “Hank Hammers Another Historic Home Run,” Cincinnati Post, October 3, 1974: 30.

7  Lawson, 30.

8  Lawson, 30.

9  Bryant, The Last Hero, 420.