Because baseball matters. On 4/8/1974 Henry Aaron hit home run number 715 passing George Herman Babe Ruth as the all time home run leader.
Aaron's life was threatened. He was called disgusting names. His family was also threatened. Because he was a black man breaking the most hallowed record in sports.
This was in 1974- during our lifetime. Fifty years ago this Monday. In the United States of America a black man's life was threatened because he had the temerity to hit more home runs than anyone else in our national pastime.
Something to think about.
Here's the video.
13 comments:
And a little more than ten years before that, Roger Maris received multiple death threats and was harassed for the rest of his career for hitting 61 home runs in 1961 and breaking Babe Ruth’s single season record. Maris was white.
It was awful what happened to both, but to put even this all on race is wrong. There are millions of assholes in the world. Some discriminate, some don’t. Hank Aaron was threatened because he was Black, you are correct. But make no mistake, he would have been threatened if he were White too.
Wait. No post today about MTG and space laser taking out the sun. I hear Lauren Bobert was jealous she didn’t think of it first.
Black(and white)ball players received hate mail back then and probably still do. What Aaron went through in 1974 was nothing compared to what he went through in the early '50's when he was moving up in the minors. Ditto Bob Gibson, Frank Robinson, and a host of other black players following in Jackie Robinson's shoes. Imagine being a young black kid in 1954 playing AA ball in Savannah, Georia or Mobile, Alabama. For those interested in a great history of the rise of black baseball players in the 1950's and early '60's, read David Halberstam's 1964. Puts Aaron's 1974 perceived hate mail hoopla in perspective.
Love the other team being excited and congratulating him as well.
Pete Rose “won at all cost”
Up here in Sanford, we tried to murder a black man who dared to play ball with white folks. When we couldn't murder him, we murdered the folks who saved his life.
Father up north, in Jacksonville, we locked the gates of the ballpark to stop the game, which I guess is more civilized than murder.
Some of the folks who did these things are still alive. Nobody was caught, or punished.
Good thing the US Supreme Court says that racism is over. Otherwise, it would be tough being black in Florida.
I don’t follow baseball but to think there was a time when HR records were broken without the help of HGH and anabolic steroids.
I don't know if this means anything but here is Aaron's slash line argainst the 3 greatest pitchers of his career:
1. Koufax. 097/145/116
2. Marichal 165/191/202
3. Gibson 206/243/301
Not exactly impressive
Last week Angel Reese's life was threatened.
I remember it clearly. Because I'm an old POS.
Still the HR leader in my opinion.
When I was growing up there were certain numbers that were hallowed. Hitting .300. 62 hrs in a year. And if course 714.
Who even knows what the current hr total is by Bonds ? Do people even call him the hr leader ? Who has the current highest total for a year ? What number is that ? Who knows ?
So sad. And the beauty of baseball is that above all other sports numbers are magical.
Baseball is the most boring sport there is. I’d like to mention the unethical behavior of a division chief at SAO if anyone would like to hear?
Imagine having umpire Angel Hernandez as your Judge.
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