Hank Aaron wasn't the only one who had a career-defining moment 50 years ago today.
Aaron’s exhausting chase of Babe Ruth came to an end on April 8, 1974, when he drove a fourth-inning pitch from Al Downing over the left-field wall at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium for his 715th career home run.
The record blast also produced the career highlight for Tom House, a then 26-year-old relief pitcher for the Braves, who caught the record homer from his teammate.
House is more than just a footnote to one of the greatest moments in Major League Baseball history. His unselfish move in the moment, despite temptations of greater riches, helps further define the story.
When Aaron finished the 1973 season one homer short of Ruth’s then-record, baseball had months to prepare for the milestone, an unprecedented lead time like no other in sports history to that point.
The Braves printed "I was there" certificates, ready to hand out to fans if Aaron hit No. 715 at a home game. The team also signed contracts with its employees (not players) that if they were to catch the ball, they would have to give it back. MLB even used infrared light to label the balls for the first time, making it easy to verify the record-breaker.
"It was chaos, kind of a controlled chaos," House said in an exclusive interview with cllct, shortly before the 50th anniversary.
And then there were the offers.
Spalding, MLB's official ball supplier, offered $15,000 for the ball, saying the company would keep it for only a short time before donating it to the Hall of Fame. A financial analyst named Alan Feinstein offered $20,000.
Entertainer Sammy Davis Jr., who attended the game, had the high bid of $25,000, saying he would make it a headliner of his Las Vegas show and then return it to Aaron.
Magnavox, a prominent producer of TVs at the time, said it refused to get into a bidding war. The company already was paying Aaron $200,000 a year for his endorsement, $40,000 more than its CEO.
A seemingly, out-of-nowhere $15,000 offer also came in from a collector all the way down in Caracas, Venezuela, according to a New York Times story written a few days before. There was never a name attached, but the offer itself was something House was unaware of — however, he became particularly intrigued when he was told of it 50 years later. We'll get back to that.
Out in the bullpen, the players had drawn spots. Jack Aker, the salty 36-year-old veteran had his choice spot down the left-field line by the foul pole. The younger guys, House and Buzz Capra, got the last spots, closer to left center.
In the fourth inning, Downing threw a high, juicy one to Aaron, who smacked it over the wall in left center. And there stood a perfectly placed Tom House.
"If I would have stood still, it would have hit me right in the forehead," House recalled. "Everybody talks about what a great catch it was. It was like shagging a fly ball in the outfield during batting practice."
But as the ball descended into House's glove, a last-minute challenge arose — an enterprising fan had attached a fishnet with a long pole that whooshed in front of House's face.
House insists the ball was always going to be Henry's that night. The pitcher says he wasn't tempted by the $25,000 offered, despite the fact House was making the major-league minimum of $12,500 for the ’74 season.
As the game was halted to recognize Aaron's milestone, House came running in from the bullpen. That's when Dodgers leftfielder Bill Buckner called for the ball.
"Housey, Housey," House recalled Buckner saying. "Give it to me."
But House maintained his beeline to home plate.
"I came right up to his face," House said of Aaron.
"He was hugging his mom. They were both squeezing each other with tears in their eyes.” Aaron and his family were undoubtedly feeling relief from the strain of the chase in which he dealt with death threats and racist letters.
"And I said, 'Hank, here it is.'" House recalled. "And he kind of looked over his mom's shoulder, reached out, and said, 'Thanks kid,' and took the ball. ...
“The good news is that's the highlight of my major-league career. The bad news is that's the highlight of my major-league career."
House didn't go home empty-handed. Aaron told the folks at Magnavox to give House one of their then-famous home entertainment centers, a real wood cabinet with a record player and a TV.
And then there were countless fans, who appreciated the gesture.
"I started to get fan mail, there was a buck or a $5 bill," House said. "I know I got one $50 bill. The next day, I took my wife and two kids to Lum's, which was huge on our list, and we spent the whole $50 at lunch.
“I figured I got about $3,000 from wonderful fans around the country who kind of appreciated the fact that I didn't hold the ball up for money."
Now, back to that offer from Venezuela.
"Right after the season was over, I hot-footed down to Venezuela to play with the La Guaira Tiburones," House recalled. "And the second day there, there was a break-in and they stole everything in my locker. And I never saw the glove (that caught the Aaron ball) after that.”
On the 50th anniversary of Hank Aaron record-breaking homerun, we catch up with the man who caught the ball.
— cllct (@cllctMedia) April 8, 2024
“If I never did anything else … everywhere I went I became Tom House, the guy who caught Henry Aaron’s 715”
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House said learning that detail in the interview with cllct “just connected the dots, and I've never heard that before."
House played eight big-league seasons, finishing with a record of 29-23 and 33 saves. When he was released in 1979, he became a pitching coach.
Seven years later, he took out a second mortgage on his home and bought a motion-analysis system, becoming the first pro athlete to bring true biophysics into the game. He changed how coaches and pitchers thought about conditioning and nutrition.
House eventually became the greatest arm-motion expert in sports, not only working with pitchers, but with pro quarterbacks. Today, he works with the National Pitching Foundation, runs an elite training facility in California called 3D QB, and co-founded Mustard, a motion analysis app for pitchers.
As for the ball, Aaron kept the historic artifact his entire life. When he died three years ago, the ball was gifted to the Hall of Fame, but first loaned to the Braves. It sits today, in Truist Park, displayed with the historic bat from one of baseball’s most memorable moments, 50 years ago today.
Darren Rovell is the founder of cllct.com and one of the country's leading reporters on the collectible market. He previously worked for ESPN, CNBC and The Action Network.