When Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s career record with his 715th home run on April 8, 1974, the crowd of 53,775 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium went crazy.
The historic moment, made even more significant due to the racism experienced by Aaron in the lead-up to the record night, was cemented as the ball landed in the Braves bullpen.
The television broadcast shows a relief pitcher named Tom House running from the bullpen to hand-deliver the ball to Aaron — a story which we’ve told in detail on cllct — at which point Aaron had already rounded the bases, mobbed by teammates and fans celebrating the new home-run king.
Amid the chaos and exhilaration, a Braves employee, in a stroke of genius, instructed his staff to grab everything related to the record-breaking homer. The bat. The hat. The jersey. The pants. Shoes, belts and socks, too.
Aaron gifted his jersey, bat and ball to the Hall of Fame. The jersey resides in Cooperstown and the bat and ball are permanently on loan at the Braves’ Truist Park.
But the Braves also grabbed the bases from the field. All four of them. Unlike the other mementos, these bases sat relatively unknown in a box for decades, placed there by a staffer.
Now gifted to his son, the set of bases and the last significant piece of memorabilia from the historic day in private hands, will sell at Heritage Auctions in August, carrying an estimate of $100,000 or more.
The home plate even exhibits spike marks, possibly from Aaron’s triumphant home run — the baseball equivalent of Neil Armstrong’s footprint on the moon.
The second base from the game previously sold for $5,812.64 at Lelands. However, the lot description only says it is from the game. Presumably ,that base came after the grounds crew replaced the bases to continue the game.
Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct.