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“Hammerin’ ” Hank Aaron Photo Gallery
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Let’s Recall Hank Aaron’s First Major League Home Run!
“I looked for the same pitch my whole career, a breaking ball. All of the time. I never worried about the fastball. They couldn’t throw it past me, none of them.” -Hank Aaron
Thanks to my friend Bruce Poulsom for alerting me that this week marked the seventieth anniversary of “promising rookie” Hank Aaron hitting the first of his 755 home runs. Hank’s solo round tripper came on April 23, 1954, at Busch Stadium. The blast came in the sixth inning off Cardinals starting pitcher, Vic Raschi, in the Braves’ extra inning 7-5 victory over the Cardinals. This was Hank’s seventh major league game.
In looking over the box score for this game, it was played in front of 14, 577 fans in 4:02. In addition to Hank, there were four other future Hall of Famers on the field that day: Eddie Mathews for the Braves; Red Schoendienst and Stan Musial for the Cardinals; and umpire Al Barlick. Older baseball fans will remember the other three umpires: Lon Warneke, Augie Donatelli, and Lee Ballanfant. The winning pitcher for the Braves was Dave Jolly in relief of starter, Gene Conley, and the loser was Cot Deal.
Other familiar names in the game that day for the Braves included Andy Pafko in center, Joe Adcock at first, Johnny Logan at short, and Del Carndall behind the plate. This was the nucleus of the team that went on to win the 1957 and ’58 National League pennants and the 1957 World Series. For the Cardinals, Wally Moon was in center, and future Cardinals’ manager Solly Hemus at short. Pitcher Harvey Haddix made an appearance as a pinch runner. The Braves, led by manager Charlie Grimm, went on to a third-place 89-65 finish. The Cardinals, under manager Eddie Stanky, finished sixth at 72-82.
What a Career!
And what a career the “promising rookie” would have. “Hammerin’ Hank” played 21 seasons for the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves and two seasons for the Milwaukee Brewers from 1954 through 1976, after appearing briefly in the Negro American League. Over his career, Hank hit .305 with 3771 hits (3rd all-time), 2174 runs (4th all-time, tied with Babe Ruth), 755 home runs (2nd all-time), 2297 RBI (1st all-time), 6856 total bases (1st all-time), 1477 extra-base hits (1st all-time), .374 on-base percentage, .555 slugging average, 12,365 at-bats (2nd all-time), and 3,298 games played (2nd all-time).
Other career highlights include 25 All-star team selections (every year between 1955-1975), and tied with Willie Mays and Stan Musial for the most All-Star Games played (24); one World Series championship (1957); National League MVP award (1957); three-time Gold Glove award; two-time National League batting champion; four-time National League home run champion; and four-time National League RBI champion.
Aaron held the major league record for career home runs for 33 years with 715, until his record was eclipsed by Barry Bonds during the tainted steroid era. He hit 24 or more home runs every year from 1955 through 1973, and is the only player to hit 30 or more home runs in a season at least fifteen times. He is one of only four players to have at least 17 seasons with 150 or more hits. At the time of his retirement, Aaron held most of the game’s key career power records.
Hank Aaron’s MVP Season, 1957
In 1957, Hank batted .322, placing third, and led the league in home runs (44) and RBIs (132). He also scored 118 runs, and posted a .378 on-base percentage and a .600 slugging average. On September 23, 1957, Aaron hit a two-run game-ending home run in Milwaukee, clinching the pennant for the Braves and was carried off the field by his celebrating teammates. Milwaukee went on to win the 1957 World Series against the Yankees. Aaron did his part by hitting .393 with three homers and seven RBI.
In his last season, Hank became the last major leaguer to have played in the Negro Leagues. The Sporting News ranked him fifth on its list of the “100 Greatest Baseball Players” in 1999. In 1982, he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2002.
It’s hard to put in words the impact the “promising young rookie” named Hank Aaron had on the game and the legacy he left us. It’s safe to say we will probably never see his likes again.
Gary Livacari
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Hank Aaron, a great baseball player and baseball administrator. I got to see him play in Pittsburgh. Also went through his childhood homestead in Mobile, AL, very modest. Charlie White, a former Negro League catcher, hit his only major league homerun that day. He took over for Crandall behind the plate in the later innings. Alex Grammas started at shortstop for the Cardinals; he would also witness Aaron’s last homerun in 1976 as Aaron’s manager with the Milwaukee Brewers. As Mel Allen would have said “How ’bout that”
Great article about “Hammerin’ Hank”, Gary. It must be mentioned that his determination and courage during the terrible racial insults and threats he endured; while chasing The Babe’s HR record, should not be overlooked. Hank was a pillar of consistency….I once read that although he amassed the incredible HR total that he did, he never once had a season in which he hit 50 or more round-trippers. He seemed to “own” some of the most intimidating pitchers of his era {Drysdale comes to mind, for example} He was a humble man, who did not flaunt his talent or seek celebrity. # 44, an MLB legend for all time. “PLAY BALL” !!
Aaron played in arguably the greatest back-to-back World Series, 1957-58. Both teams loaded with HOFers. Each team had one of the greatest left handed pitchers of all time. Each team had one of the great power hitters of the generation. Yet, it was the non-HOFers which made the difference, Lew Burdette in 1957 and Bob Turley in 1958. An interesting trivia note: before 1958, no pitcher ever started the 7th game of a WS in consecutive seasons. That year both Burdette and Don Larson started the 7th game, having both done so the previous year. The next pitcher to do so was Bob Gibson in 1967-68.
Gary,
You’ve got some real fans who follow you and appreciate the greatness of the game and its players. Just a few things from your fine article:
(1) Forgot Vic Raschi finished his career with the Cardinals. A far cry from his championship seasons with the Yankees when it was: Raschi, Reynolds and Lopat.
(2) Lew Burdette beat the Yankees almost single handedly in his MVP ’57 Series with a 3-0 mark including three complete games, two shutouts and an ERA of 0.67. His vicious sinker ball was unhittable.
(3) Aaron’s comment that he looked for the breaking ball and not the fastball is amazing. For everybody else it was just the opposite. Especially when coming in at 93mph plus, a heater is a blur at best to the naked eye. Henry was spectacular!
Thanks Bill…All great coments. I was thinking about Raschi’s years with the Yankees as I wrote this and wasn’t aware he finished his career with the Cardnianls. I do remember Lew Burdette’s great Series in ’57.