May 21, 1954: Braves win as Henry Aaron hits first career game-winning home run

Henry Aaron’s first game-winning home run came against the Chicago Cubs. (SABR-Rucker Archive)

After finishing his opening month in the big leagues batting .333, Henry Aaron slumped to a mere .182 in the first half of May. While Aaron sat on the bench over the weekend against the Pittsburgh Pirates and in both games of a doubleheader against the New York Giants, Jim Pendleton struggled in his place.1 On this day, Aaron hit his first career game-winning home run and propelled the Milwaukee Braves to a 6-4 win over the Chicago Cubs.

The 1954 season was a watershed one for Aaron. In spring training the Braves were playing the Yankees in St. Petersburg when Bobby Thomson, who famously hit the Shot Heard Round the World for the New York Giants in 1951, fractured his ankle sliding into second base. His injury opened the door for Aaron to start in left field under manager Charlie Grimm.2 The 20-year-old slugger was promoted from Class-A Jacksonville, where he hit .362 and collected 125 RBIs,3 to the major leagues.4

On the mound for the Braves was right-handed pitcher Gene Conley. Conley came into this game with a 2-1 record that featured two complete-game wins against the Pittsburgh Pirates on May 5 and against the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field on May 11. In his last game, against the New York Giants on May 16 at the Polo Grounds, he pitched 8⅓ innings, allowed two earned runs, and stuck out three batters in the Braves’ 3-2 win in 10 innings.

Facing Conley was another right-hander, Johnny Klippstein, who was 2-2 and coming off a complete-game victory against the Giants on May 15.

The Braves struck first in the top of the second with a leadoff single by Andy Pafko. Joe Adcock tripled to left-center field to bring home the first run of the game. Johnny Logan hit the first of three Braves home runs in the game to make it 3-0 Milwaukee.

Conley did not allow a Cubs hit through three innings, but was greeted with a leadoff home run from Dee Fondy in the fourth inning, his fifth of the season.5 With one out, Ralph Kiner added another Chicago run with a solo round-tripper, cutting the Braves lead to 3-2. Randy Jackson, batting behind Kiner, almost tied the game with a drive to deep center field, but Bill Bruton snagged the ball right at the wall.6

The score remained at 3-2 until Del Crandall hit a leadoff home run in the top of the seventh, giving the Braves a 4-2 lead.

In the bottom half, the Cubs tied the game. Jackson led off with a double. Ernie Banks singled to left to bring him home and reached second when Aaron bobbled the ball in left field. After Joe Garagiola moved Banks to third on a groundout to second. Manager Stan Hack sent up Bill Serena to pinch-hit for outfielder Luis Márquez. Serena lifted a fly ball to first baseman Adcock, who made the catch just past the infield. Banks broke for home and caught Adcock off guard, beating the throw and tying the score, 4-4, to the delight of most of the 6,179 spectators. Serena’s popup went into the scorebooks as a sacrifice fly.7

After Adcock led off the top of the eighth with a single, Hack went to his bullpen and brought in right-handed reliever Hal Jeffcoat. Jeffcoat retired Logan on a force out at second, which brought up Aaron. Until this point of the game, Aaron was 1-for-3 with a first-inning single but was looking to atone for his critical seventh-inning fielding error. With one swing of the bat, he more than made up for the error. Aaron drove a Jeffcoat pitch over the wall onto Waveland Avenue to give the Braves a 6-4 lead.8

The Cubs attempted a rally in the bottom of the ninth. With right-hander Dave Jolly on in relief, Jackson walked to lead off the inning.9 Banks was retired on a fly ball to right, but Jolly issued another walk to Garagiola. Walker Cooper pinch-hit for Bob Talbot and flied out to center field.10 Hack summoned another pinch-hitter, Steve Bilko, to bat for Jeffcoat. Bilko reached base on Jolly’s third walk of the inning.

With two outs and the bases loaded, Jolly got Frank Baumholtz to fly out to center field and end the game.

Despite hitting his first game-winning home run, Aaron was not satisfied. After the game, the rookie outfielder said he was still tight at the plate. “I still don’t feel right up there. I’m too tight and my timing isn’t just right,” he complained.11 Ray Crone, whose locker was next to Aaron’s, told him, “As long as you keep hitting homers that way, Henry, you can be as tight as you like.”12

Aaron went on to bat .280 for the season with 13 home runs and finished fourth in the National League Rookie of the Year voting.13 But his season came to an end in early September at Crosley Field in Cincinnati when he, as Thomson had done, fractured his ankle sliding into third base.14

The Braves finished the 1954 season with an 89-65 record, third in the National League behind the Giants and Dodgers. The Cubs came in at 64-90, seventh in the National League and 11 games above the 101-loss Pittsburgh Pirates. It was Chicago’s first of three consecutive losing seasons under manager Stan Hack.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Thank you to Ken Keltner SABR Chapter president Dennis Degenhardt for locating the Milwaukee Journal and Sentinel articles.

SOURCES

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHN/CHN195405210.shtml

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1954/B05210CHN1954.htm

NOTES

1  Sam Levy, “Hank Aaron Decides He Will Swing More,” Milwaukee Journal, May 22, 1954: 8.

2  Hank Aaron and Lonnie Wheeler, I Had A Hammer: The Hank Aaron Story (New York: Harper Perennial, 1991), 124-125, Kindle.

3  Aaron and Wheeler, 106, Kindle.

4  Lou Chapman, “‘Tight’ Aaron Tagged Braves’ Payoff Blow,” Milwaukee Sentinel, May 22, 1954: 4, 2.

5  Edward Prell, “Aaron’s Homer Off Jeffcoat in 8th Wins for Braves,” Chicago Tribune, May 22, 1954: 2, 1.

6  Prell, 2, 3.

7  Bob Wolf, “Conley Wins, Jolly ‘Saves’” Milwaukee Journal, May 22, 1954: 8.

8  Wolf.

9  Jolly had relieved Conley with two outs in the top of the eighth.

10  This was Cooper’s first plate appearance with the Cubs. At 39 years old, he was acquired by the Cubs from the Pittsburgh Pirates for the $10,000 waiver price; “Cubs Acquire Walker Cooper From Pirates,” Chicago Tribune, May 20, 1954: 4, 3.

11  “Braves Hope Hank Aaron Will Continue ‘Tight’ at the Plate.” Appleton (Wisconsin) Post-Crescent, May 22, 1954: 20.

12  “Braves Hope Hank Aaron Will Continue ‘Tight’ at the Plate.”

13  Bill Johnson, “Henry Aaron,” SABR BioProject, accessed June 14, 2025.

14  Aaron and Wheeler, I Had a Hammer, 135, Kindle.