The late Hank Aaron provided one of MLB All-Star Game's most memorable moments
One of the biggest moments from the game, however, actually occurred 51 years, three months and one week earlier. That's when the legendary Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth's longstanding MLB record with his 715th home run — a milestone event that was recreated in dramatic fashion after the sixth inning Tuesday night (July 15, a.k.a, 7/15) at Truist Park in Atlanta.
The actual milestone event took place about 10 miles from there on April 8, 1974, when Aaron and the Atlanta Braves hosted the Dodgers at the since-demolished Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. A crowd of 53,775 was on hand, with millions more watching on national TV, when Aaron launched a fourth-inning pitch by Al Downing over the left-center field wall to make baseball history.
This week, a crowd of 41,176 — again with millions more watching on TV or streaming — witnessed the moment come back to life through video and audio clips (yep, that's legendary Dodgers announcer Vin Scully you hear, along with Braves announcer Milo Hamilton), pyrotechnics and lots of modern technology.
It was really a sight to behold as Aaron and the others somehow appeared on the field as the events unfolded just like they did more than a half-century ago. A firework was launched from home plate and scorched through the air marking the trajectory of Aaron's landmark blast. Lighted footprints traced the Hall of Famer's every step around the basepath.
The tribute included part of Scully's call from that day. 'What a marvelous moment for baseball,' he said, 'what a marvelous moment for Atlanta and the state of Georgia, what a marvelous moment for the country and the world.'
(Although it wasn't included in the tribute, Scully went on to explain one of the reasons the moment was so significant: 'A Black man is getting a standing ovation in the Deep South for breaking a record of an all-time baseball idol. And it is a great moment for all of us, and particularly for Henry Aaron.')
Aaron died in 2021 at age 86, but his wife Billye Aaron was on hand for the festivities.
'I think people can look at me and say, 'He was a great baseball player, but he was even a greater human being,'' Aaron said in a clip that played at the end of the tribute.
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