136-601: Stade Canac is a stadium in Quebec City , Quebec . It is used primarily for baseball and is currently the home stadium for the Quebec Capitales of the independent Frontier League . Originally opened in 1939, it has a capacity of 4,300 (one site claims 4,297) and is located within the boundaries of Parc Victoria , a municipal park and recreation area located between the St-Roch district of Quebec City and
272-573: A pinch-hitter in the second inning. This All-Star Game, like the first one he played in 1955, was before a home crowd at Milwaukee County Stadium . Aaron hit his 755th and final home run on July 20, 1976, at Milwaukee County Stadium off Dick Drago of the California Angels , which stood as the MLB career home run record for 31 years until it was broken in 2007 by Barry Bonds . Over the course of his record-breaking 23-year career, Aaron had
408-539: A tensegrity structure . But, in the context of sports stadiums, the term "dome" has become standard for all covered stadiums, particularly because the first such enclosed stadium, the Houston Astrodome , was built with an actual dome-shaped roof. Some stadiums have partial roofs, and a few have even been designed to have moveable fields as part of the infrastructure. The Caesars Superdome in New Orleans
544-464: A Braves player. Aaron commented after the game that it was his last time as a player in Atlanta as his contract had expired. While he considered retirement, he said that he was willing to return to baseball for another year. He had also said that he would be interested in serving as a team's general manager, someone who would make decisions and not a "house boy". The Braves offered Aaron a position with
680-669: A Hammer ". Aaron owned Hank Aaron BMW of south Atlanta in Union City, Georgia , where he included an autographed baseball with every car sold. Aaron also owned Mini , Land Rover , Toyota , Hyundai , and Honda dealerships throughout Georgia, as part of the Hank Aaron Automotive Group. Aaron sold all but the Toyota dealership in McDonough in 2007. Additionally, Aaron owned a chain of 30 restaurants around
816-731: A Quebec City resident, founded a new team, the Quebec Indiens . With only amateur players from Quebec in its lineup, the Indiens played their first seasons in the Mauricie League . A few years later, they joined a new version of the Provincial League . During their final year in 1970, the Indiens' lineup was made up of only professional American and Latino players. Throughout the years, the Quebec Indiens won
952-568: A Roman track of such length. Most dictionaries provide for both stadiums and stadia as valid English plurals. The oldest known stadium is the Stadium at Olympia in Greece, where the ancient Olympic Games were held from 776 BC. Initially the Games consisted of a single event, a sprint along the length of the stadium. Greek and Roman stadiums have been found in numerous ancient cities, perhaps
1088-578: A baseball fan, was invited to throw out the ceremonial first pitch of the Quebec Provincial League season in Trois-Rivières . During his visit, he noticed how severely damaged the stadium had become and decided to allow public funding to be used for the construction of new sport facilities in many Quebec cities. By doing so, he also wanted to create thousands of new jobs during a period of economic struggles. In 1938, following
1224-549: A batting average of .305 and 163 hits a season, while averaging just over 32 home runs and 99 RBIs a year. He had 100+ RBIs in a season 15 times, including a record of 13 in a row. After the 1976 season, Aaron rejoined the Braves as an executive. On August 1, 1982, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame , having received votes on 97.8 percent of the ballots, second only to Ty Cobb , who had received votes on 98.2% of
1360-452: A career-high 47 home runs during the season (along with a career-high .669 slugging percentage ) and finished third in MVP voting for the sixth time. During the strike-shortened season of 1972, Aaron tied and then surpassed Willie Mays for second place on the career home run list. Aaron also drove in the 2,000th run of his career and hit a home run in the first All-Star game played in Atlanta. As
1496-480: A cost of £150 and 12 turnstiles were installed at a cost of £7 each. The stadium was officially opened on 24 August 1892 by Lord Kinnaird and Frederick Wall of the Football Association. No football was played; instead the 12,000 crowd watched a short track and field event followed by music and a fireworks display. Upon its completion the stadium was the first joint purpose-built football stadium in
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#17327917514021632-600: A demand by a group representing the Quebec Athletics , the government agreed to build a new baseball stadium in Quebec City and in early April 1938, construction work began in Parc Victoria. The stadium would be completed a few months later at the end of the 1938 baseball season. On May 14, 1939, a first baseball game was held at the new stadium. Then-mayor of Quebec City, Lucien Borne , was in attendance, which saw more than 5,000 people attend that game with
1768-545: A double off St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Vic Raschi . Aaron hit his first major league home run on April 23, also off Raschi. In 122 games, Aaron batted .280 with 13 home runs before he suffered a fractured ankle on September 5. He then changed his number to 44, which would turn out to look like a "lucky number" for the slugger. Aaron would hit 44 home runs in four different seasons, and he hit his record-breaking 715th career home run off Dodgers pitcher Al Downing , who coincidentally also wore number 44. At this point, Aaron
1904-405: A few municipally owned stadiums, which are often known by a name that is significant to their area (for example, Boston 's Fenway Park ). In recent years, some government-owned stadiums have also been subject to naming-rights agreements, with some or all of the revenue often going to the team(s) that play there. One consequence of corporate naming has been an increase in stadium name changes, when
2040-472: A few years, and none survive today. Goodison Park was the first purpose-built association football stadium in the world. Walton -based building firm Kelly brothers were instructed to erect two uncovered stands that could each accommodate 4,000 spectators. A third covered stand accommodating 3,000 spectators was also requested. Everton officials were impressed with the builder's workmanship and agreed two further contracts: exterior hoardings were constructed at
2176-514: A field or stage completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event. Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event at the ancient Greek Olympic festival was the race that comprised one length of the stadion at Olympia , where the word "stadium" originated. Most of the stadiums with a capacity of at least 10,000 are used for association football . Other popular stadium sports include gridiron football , baseball , cricket ,
2312-403: A football pitch with a running track , although certain compromises must be made. The major drawback is that the stands are necessarily set back a good distance from the pitch, especially at the ends of the pitch. In the case of some smaller stadiums, there are not stands at the ends. When there are stands all the way around, the stadium takes on an oval shape. When one end is open, the stadium has
2448-513: A game. In 1963, Aaron nearly won the triple crown . He led the league with 44 home runs and 130 RBI and finished third in batting average (.319). In that season, Aaron became the third player to hit 30 home runs and steal 30 bases in a single season, and the first player to record 40 home runs and 30 steals in a season. He again finished third in National League MVP voting. The Braves moved from Milwaukee to Atlanta after
2584-461: A given historical context it may actually signify a length up to 15% larger or smaller. The equivalent Roman measure, the stadium , had a similar length – about 185 m (607 ft) – but instead of being defined in feet was defined using the Roman standard passus to be a distance of 125 passūs (double-paces). The English use of stadium comes from the tiered infrastructure surrounding
2720-501: A home run. This led Aaron to a major league contract, signed on the final day of spring training, and a Braves uniform with the number five. On April 13, he made his major league debut and was hitless in five at-bats against the Cincinnati Redlegs . In the same game, Eddie Mathews hit two home runs, the first of a record 863 home runs the pair would hit as teammates. On April 15, Aaron collected his first major league hit,
2856-471: A horseshoe shape. All three configurations (open, oval and horseshoe) are common, especially in the case of American college football stadiums. Rectangular stadiums are more common in Europe, especially for football where many stadiums have four often distinct and very different stands on the four sides of the stadium. These are often all of different sizes and designs and have been erected at different periods in
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#17327917514022992-605: A marvelous moment for the country and the world. 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 ... And for the first time in a long time, that poker face in Aaron shows the tremendous strain and relief of what it must have been like to live with for the past several months. On October 2, 1974, Aaron hit his 733rd home run in his last at-bat as
3128-480: A member of the company's board of directors, and the vice president of business development for The Airport Network. On January 21, 2007, Major League Baseball announced the sale of the Atlanta Braves. In that announcement, Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig also announced that Aaron would be playing a major role in the management of the Braves, forming programs through major league baseball that will encourage
3264-467: A new home run champion of all time, and it's Henry Aaron! The fireworks are going. Henry Aaron is coming around third. His teammates are at home plate. And listen to this crowd! Meanwhile, Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully addressed the racial tension—or apparent lack thereof—in his call of the home run: What a marvelous moment for baseball; what a marvelous moment for Atlanta and the state of Georgia; what
3400-870: A new manager to replace McCormick, George McQuinn , another former MLB All-Star and for a second straight year the Braves won the Canadian–American League championship. That 1950 Braves squad are still considered today as one of the best minor league teams of all time. In 1951, the Braves quit the Canadian–American League to join the Provincial League , becoming an affiliate of the Boston Braves / Milwaukee Braves . On July 15, 1953, with Warren Spahn as their starting pitcher, Milwaukee played an exhibition game against Quebec at Stade Municipal. Two years later, on May 31, 1955, Milwaukee came to Stade Municipal to play another exhibition game. This time, they had baseball legend Hank Aaron in their lineup where Aaron
3536-529: A partnership agreement was reached between CBV and Groupe Laberge, owner of the hardware retail chain Canac, to rename the stadium to Stade CANAC. 1992 Not officially retired by the Capitales 2008–11 Player (1995–99) Manager (2008–11) Stadium A stadium ( pl. : stadiums or stadia ) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of
3672-693: A power hitter. As a result, in 1949, at the age of 15, Aaron had his first tryout with an MLB franchise, the Brooklyn Dodgers ; however, he did not make the team. After this, Aaron returned to school to finish his secondary education, attending the Josephine Allen Institute, a private high school in Alabama. During his junior year , Aaron joined the Prichard Athletics, an independent Negro league team, followed by
3808-608: A result of his standout play with the Indianapolis Clowns , Aaron received two offers from MLB teams via telegram , one from the New York Giants and the other from the Boston Braves . Years later, Aaron remembered: I had the Giants' contract in my hand. But the Braves offered fifty dollars a month more. That's the only thing that kept Willie Mays and me from being teammates – fifty dollars. While with
3944-523: A secretary working for the Braves, Carla Koplin , to help him sort through it. Aaron (then age 39) hit 40 home runs in 392 at-bats, ending the 1973 season one home run short of the record. He hit home run number 713 on September 29, 1973, and with one day remaining in the season, many expected him to tie the record. But in his final game that year, playing against the Houston Astros (managed by Leo Durocher , who had once roomed with Babe Ruth), he
4080-493: A series of strips in which Snoopy attempts to break Babe Ruth's record, only to be besieged with hate mail. In the strip published August 11, Lucy remarked to Snoopy: "Hank Aaron is a great player ... but you! If you break Babe Ruth's record, it'll be a disgrace!" Coincidentally, Snoopy was only one home run short of tying the record (and finished the season as such when Charlie Brown got picked off second base during Snoopy's last at-bat), and as it turned out, Aaron finished
4216-522: A single sport while others can accommodate different events, particularly ones with retractable seating . Stadiums built specifically for association football are common in Europe; Gaelic games stadiums, such as Croke Park , are common in Ireland, while stadiums built specifically for baseball or American football are common in the United States. The most common multiple use design combines
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4352-705: A surprise appearance on the JumboTron video screen at AT&T Park in San Francisco to congratulate Bonds on his accomplishment: I would like to offer my congratulations to Barry Bonds on becoming baseball's career home run leader. It is a great accomplishment that required skill, longevity, and determination. Throughout the past century, the home run has held a special place in baseball and I have been privileged to hold this record for 33 of those years. I move over now and offer my best wishes to Barry and his family on this historical achievement. My hope today, as it
4488-639: A total of three championships (1960, 1964, 1969). In 1969, the Montreal Expos joined Major League Baseball and became the first non-American major baseball team. Two years later, in 1971, they established their Double-A affiliate in Quebec, where the team was named the Québec Carnavals in honour of the famous Carnaval de Québec . After a difficult inaugural season, the Carnavals finished
4624-687: A venue for Everton F.C. ). In the U.S., many professional baseball teams built large stadiums mainly out of wood , with the first such venue being the South End Grounds in Boston , opened in 1871 for the team then known as the Boston Beaneaters (now the Atlanta Braves ). Many of these parks caught fire, and those that did not proved inadequate for a growing game. All of the 19th-century wooden parks were replaced, some after
4760-680: Is a true dome structure made of a lamellar multi-ringed frame and has a diameter of 680 feet (210 m). It is the largest fixed domed structure in the world. Even though enclosed, dome stadiums are called stadiums because they are large enough for, and designed for, what are generally considered to be outdoor sports such as athletics, American football , association football , rugby , and baseball . Those designed for what are usually indoor sports like basketball, ice hockey and volleyball are generally called arenas . Exceptions include: Different sports require different playing surfaces of various size and shape. Some stadiums are designed primarily for
4896-615: Is as of yet the only pennant-clinching walk-off home run in major league history in a non-playoff regular-season game. Milwaukee went on to win the World Series against the New York Yankees , the defending champions, four games to three. Aaron did his part by hitting .393 with three homers and seven RBIs. On December 15, 1957, his wife Barbara gave birth to twins. Two days later, one of the children died. In 1958, Aaron hit .326 with 30 home runs and 95 RBI in 153 games. He led
5032-528: Is often cited as the first modern seater stadium, at least in the UK. Designed by the engineer J.J. Webster and completed in 10 months by George Wimpey , on the site of the Franco-British Exhibition , this stadium with a seating capacity of 68,000 was opened by King Edward VII on 27 April 1908. Upon completion, the stadium had a running track 24 ft wide (7.3 m) and three laps to
5168-733: Is the Nippon Professional Baseball league of Japan, in which many of the teams are themselves named after their parent corporations. Also, many newer European football stadiums, such as the University of Bolton and Emirates Stadiums in England and Signal Iduna Park and Allianz Arena in Germany have been corporately named. This new trend in corporate naming (or renaming) is distinguishable from names of some older venues, such as Crosley Field , Wrigley Field , and
5304-551: The 1973 season one home run short of Ruth. Babe Ruth's widow, Claire , denounced the racism and declared that her husband would have enthusiastically cheered Aaron's attempt at the record. As the 1974 season began, Aaron's pursuit of the record caused a small controversy. The Braves opened the season on the road in Cincinnati with a three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds . Braves management wanted him to break
5440-794: The Allianz Arena in Munich was called the FIFA World Cup Stadium, Munich during the tournament. Likewise, the same stadium will be known as the "München Arena" during the European Competitions. Similar rules affect the Imtech Arena and Veltins-Arena . This rule applies even if the stadium sponsor is an official FIFA sponsor—the Johannesburg stadium then commercially known as "Coca-Cola Park", bearing
5576-590: The Chicks . For two decades, the stadium was only used for junior baseball and became heavily damaged. In the 1990s, the Stade Municipal was in such bad shape the city council strongly considered demolishing it, however, a group of citizens formed the Comité de Relance in a desperate effort to save the facility. Only minor work would be done by that committee to repair some parts of the aging stadium. Even though
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5712-543: The Eau Claire Bears , the Braves' Northern League Class-C farm team . The 1952 season proved to be very beneficial for Aaron. Playing in the infield , Aaron continued to develop as a ballplayer and made the Northern League's All-Star team. He broke his habit of hitting cross-handed and adopted the standard hitting technique. By the end of the season, he had performed so well that the league made him
5848-594: The Korean War was over, people were still being drafted. The Braves were able to speak to the draft board , making the case that Aaron could be the player to integrate the Southern Association the following season with the Atlanta Crackers . The board appears to have been convinced, as Aaron was not drafted. In 1954, Aaron attended spring training with the major league club. Although he
5984-636: The Lansdowne Rugby Football Club – colours red, black and yellow." Some 300 cartloads of soil from a trench beneath the railway were used to raise the ground, allowing Dunlop to use his engineering expertise to create a pitch envied around Ireland. Other early stadiums from this period in the UK include the Stamford Bridge stadium (opened in 1877 for the London Athletic Club ) and Anfield stadium (1884 as
6120-638: The National Football League or the American Football League . (To a certain extent, this continues in lower football leagues as well, with the venue now known as Charles Schwab Field Omaha being used as the home stadium of the United Football League's Omaha Nighthawks .) Along with today's single use stadiums is the trend for retro-style ballparks closer to downtown areas. Oriole Park at Camden Yards
6256-547: The Negro American League and in minor league baseball before starting his major league career. By his final MLB season, Aaron was the last former Negro league baseball player on a major league roster. During his time in Major League Baseball, and especially during his run for the home run record, Aaron and his family endured extensive racist threats. His experiences fueled his activism during
6392-531: The Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2002. After his retirement, Aaron held front office roles with the Atlanta Braves, including the senior vice president. He resided near Atlanta until his death in 2021. Aaron was born in Mobile, Alabama , to Herbert Aaron Sr. and Estella (Pritchett) Aaron. He had seven siblings. Tommie Aaron , one of his brothers, also went on to play Major League Baseball . By
6528-523: The South Atlantic League . Helped by Aaron's performance, the Braves won the league championship that year. Aaron led the league in runs (115), hits (208), doubles (36), RBIs (125), total bases (338), and batting average (.362). He won the league's Most Valuable Player Award, and had such a dominant year that one sportswriter was prompted to say, "Henry Aaron led the league in everything except hotel accommodations." Aaron's time with
6664-640: The Summer Olympics and the FIFA World Cup (of association football), during which cities often pledge to build new stadiums in order to satisfy the International Olympic Committee (IOC) or FIFA . In recent decades, to help take the burden of the massive expense of building and maintaining a stadium, many American and European sports teams have sold the rights to the name of the facility. This trend, which began in
6800-702: The civil rights movement . Aaron was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 1982 and Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 1988. In 1999, MLB introduced the Hank Aaron Award to recognize the top offensive players in each league. That same year, he was one of 30 baseball players elected to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team . He was awarded
6936-479: The 1960s stadiums began to be used as live venues for popular music, giving rise to the term " stadium rock ", particularly for forms of hard rock and progressive rock . The origins of stadium rock are sometimes dated to when the Beatles played Shea Stadium in New York in 1965. Also important was the use of large stadiums for American tours by bands in the later 1960s, such as the Rolling Stones , Grand Funk Railroad and Led Zeppelin . The tendency developed in
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#17327917514027072-404: The 1965 season. On May 10, 1967, he hit an inside-the-park home run against Jim Bunning in Philadelphia . It was the only inside-the-park home run of his career. In 1968, Aaron was the first Atlanta Braves player to hit his 500th career home run, and in 1970, he was the first Atlanta Brave to reach 3,000 career hits. During his days in Atlanta, Aaron reached several milestones ; he was only
7208-482: The 1970s, but accelerated greatly in the 1990s, has led to sponsors' names being affixed to both established stadiums and new ones. In some cases, the corporate name replaces (with varying degrees of success) the name by which the venue has been known for many years. But many of the more recently built stadiums, like the Volkswagen Arena in Wolfsburg , Germany, have never been known by a non-corporate name. The sponsorship phenomenon has since spread worldwide. There remain
7344-548: The 1972 season with a 75-64 record, just 2½ games behind the Trois-Rivières Aigles while breaking the existing attendance record for the Eastern League with a total admissions of 142,818 people throughout their season. In 1973, future Baseball Hall of Fame catcher Gary Carter joined the team and would go on to finish the season with 15 home runs while producing a total of 68 runs batted in. During that same campaign, Quebec City fans were also introduced to another future Expos All-Star player, pitcher Steve Rogers . The 1974 season
7480-532: The 1990s. In several cases, an American football stadium has been constructed adjacent to a baseball park , to allow for the sharing of mutual parking lots and other amenities. With the rise of MLS, the construction of soccer-specific stadiums has also increased since the late 1990s to better fit the needs of that sport. In many cases, earlier baseball stadiums were constructed to fit into a particular land area or city block. This resulted in asymmetrical dimensions for many baseball fields. Yankee Stadium , for example,
7616-399: The Athletics winning their first game at the stadium 6-5 against Trois-Rivières . The first Quebec player to hit a home run at Stade Municipal was Roland Gladu who would go on to play in the Majors for the Boston Braves in 1944. In 1941, the Athletics joined the Canadian–American League and became an affiliate of the Brooklyn Dodgers . From 1943 through 1945, baseball was not played at
7752-407: The Braves did not come without problems. He was one of the first African Americans to play in the league. The 1950s were a period of racial segregation in parts of the United States, especially the southeastern portion of the country. When Aaron traveled around Jacksonville, Florida , and the surrounding areas, he was often separated from his team because of Jim Crow laws . In most circumstances,
7888-451: The Braves to another pennant, but this time they lost a seven-game World Series to the Yankees. Aaron finished third in the MVP race and he received his first of three Gold Glove Awards . During the next several years, Aaron had some of his best games and best seasons as a major league player. On June 21, 1959, against the San Francisco Giants , he hit three two-run home runs. It was the only time in his career that he hit three home runs in
8024-539: The Braves' bullpen and the First National Bank advertisement sign in left-center field, where relief pitcher Tom House caught it. While cannons were fired in celebration, two college students sprinted onto the field and jogged alongside Aaron for part of his circuit around the bases, temporarily startling him. As the fans cheered wildly, Aaron's parents ran onto the field as well. Afterwards, Aaron remarked how "I never knew my mother could hug so tight," though he later learned that Aaron's mother kept hugging him because she
8160-496: The Braves' game. Aaron singled, doubled, and hit a home run in the game. On October 6, Aaron and Lucas married. In 1958, Aaron's wife noted that during the off-season he liked "to sit and watch those shooting westerns". He also enjoyed cooking and fishing. Aaron spent the winter of 1953 playing in Puerto Rico . Mickey Owen , the team's manager, helped Aaron with his batting stance. Until then, Aaron had hit most pitches to left field or center field, but after working with Owen, Aaron
8296-440: The Braves' slugger. "And he'll hit almost anything, so you have to be careful." Aaron hit .314 with 27 home runs and 106 RBI in 153 games in 1955. He was named to the NL All-Star roster for the first time; it was the first of a record 21 All-Star selections and first of a record 25 All-Star Game appearances. In 1956, Aaron hit .328 and captured the first of two NL batting titles. He was also named The Sporting News NL Player of
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#17327917514028432-435: The Clowns for $ 10,000, which GM John Quinn thought was a steal, as he stated that he felt that Aaron was a $ 100,000 property. On June 12, 1952, Aaron signed with Braves' scout Dewey Griggs. During this time, he picked up the nickname " pork chops " because it "was the only thing I knew to order off the menu". A teammate later said, "the man ate pork chops three meals a day, two for breakfast". The Braves assigned Aaron to
8568-405: The Clowns he experienced racism . Of a time his team was in Washington, D.C. Aaron recalled: We had breakfast while we were waiting for the rain to stop, and I can still envision sitting with the Clowns in a restaurant behind Griffith Stadium and hearing them break all the plates in the kitchen after we finished eating. What a horrible sound. Even as a kid, the irony of it hit me: here we were in
8704-428: The MLB records for the most career runs batted in (RBIs) (2,297), extra base hits (1,477), and total bases (6,856). Aaron is also third all-time for career hits (3,771) and fifth in runs scored (2,174). He is one of only four players to have at least 17 seasons with 150 or more hits. Aaron's ability as a hitter can be illustrated by his still having over 3,000 hits even without counting any of his home runs. He
8840-480: The Mobile Black Bears, another independent Negro league team. While on the Bears, Aaron earned $ 3 per game ($ 40 today), which was a dollar more than he got while on the Athletics. On November 20, 1951, baseball scout Ed Scott signed Aaron to a contract on behalf of the Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro American League , where he played for three months. He started play as a 6 ft (180 cm), 180 lb (82 kg) shortstop, and earned $ 200 per month. As
8976-441: The National League. On April 27, 1971, Aaron hit his 600th career home run, the third major league player ever to do so. On July 13, Aaron hit a home run in the All-Star Game (played at Detroit's Tiger Stadium ) for the first time. He hit his 40th home run of the season against the Giants ' Jerry Johnson on August 10, which established a National League record for most seasons with 40 or more home runs (seven). At age 37, he hit
9112-460: The Prinz House in Historic Brewers Hill. Considerably later in his career, Aaron coined "Stone-fingers", which would prove a popular handle for one of baseball's more colorful characters, the famously distance-hitting but defensively challenged first baseman Dick Stuart , reportedly "delight[ing]" even its recipient. Sal Maglie recommended throwing low curveballs to Aaron. "He's going to swing and he'll go after almost anything," Maglie said of
9248-443: The Québec Carnavals became the Quebec Metros . During the 1976 campaign, young rising star Andre Dawson played in only 40 games in Quebec City, although his impressive performance (.357 AVG, 8 HR, 27 RBI) quickly saw him promoted to the Expos Triple-A affiliate, the Denver Bears , of the Pacific Coast League. At the end of the 1977 season, the Montreal Expos moved their Double-A affiliate to Memphis, Tennessee, and became known as
9384-427: The U.S. The Baker Bowl , a baseball park in Philadelphia that opened in its original form in 1887 but was completely rebuilt in 1895, broke new ground in stadium construction in two major ways. The stadium's second incarnation featured the world's first cantilevered second deck (tier) in a sports venue, and was the first baseball park to use steel and brick for the majority of its construction. Another influential venue
9520-405: The US is bleachers , which is mostly used for seating areas with bench seats as opposed to individual seats, and which often are uncovered; the name refers to the bleaching effect direct, unshaded sunlight has on the benches and patrons in those sections. Many stadiums make luxury suites or boxes available to patrons at high prices. These suites can accommodate ten to thirty people, depending on
9656-406: The Year. In 1957, Aaron won his only NL MVP Award, as he had his first brush with the triple crown. He batted .322, placing third, and led the league in home runs and runs batted in. On September 23, 1957, in Milwaukee, Aaron hit a two-run walk-off home run against the St. Louis Cardinals, clinching the pennant for the Braves. After touching home plate he was carried off the field by his teammates. It
9792-421: The ballot in the inaugural 1936 Hall of Fame election. Aaron was then named the Braves' vice president and director of player development. This made him one of the first minorities in Major League Baseball upper-level management. In December 1980, Aaron became senior vice president and assistant to the Braves' president. He was the corporate vice president of community relations for Turner Broadcasting System ,
9928-450: The capital in the land of freedom and equality, and they had to destroy the plates that had touched the forks that had been in the mouths of black men. If dogs had eaten off those plates, they'd have washed them. The Howe Sports Bureau credits Aaron with a .366 batting average in 26 official Negro league games, with five home runs , 33 runs batted in (RBIs), 41 hits , and nine stolen bases . The Braves purchased Aaron's contract from
10064-421: The career home run list, after Willie Mays and Babe Ruth . At the end of the 1969 season, Aaron again finished third in the MVP voting. In 1970, Aaron reached two more career milestones. On May 17, Aaron collected his 3,000th hit, in a game against the Cincinnati Reds , the team against which he played in his first major-league game. Aaron established the record for most seasons with thirty or more home runs in
10200-458: The construction of new facilities. In Europe and Latin America, where there are multiple association football clubs in any given city, and several leagues in each country, no such monopoly power exists, and stadiums are built primarily with private money. Outside professional sports, governments are also involved through the intense competition for the right to host major sporting events, primarily
10336-560: The demolition of the building was avoided, a private investor was desperately needed in order to justify some investments by the city. In 1998, Jean-François Côté who had been promoting the return of professional baseball in Quebec City for a few years already, managed to invite Miles Wolff , the editor of Baseball America , to visit the stadium. Due to the very bad condition of the structure, Wolff did not see any potential for any future professional baseball at this location. Following
10472-454: The disappointment of Wolff's visit, the city spent the next 6 months renovating the old facility after which Wolff was invited once again to visit the Stade Municipal at which time his reaction after that second visit in Quebec City was very favorable. On June 4, 1999, the Quebec Capitales , a new minor professional baseball team, began to play at the stadium and since then, the city has continued to invest important amounts of money to modernize
10608-500: The eighth player ever to hit 500 career home runs, with his 500th coming against Mike McCormick of the San Francisco Giants on July 14, 1968—exactly one year after former Milwaukee Braves teammate Eddie Mathews had hit his 500th. Aaron was, at the time, the second-youngest player to reach the milestone. On July 31, 1969, Aaron hit his 537th home run, passing Mickey Mantle 's total; this moved Aaron into third place on
10744-408: The first and second Busch Stadiums , in that the parks were named by and for the club's owner, which also happened to be the name of the company owned by those clubowners. (The current Busch Stadium received its name via a modern naming rights agreement.) During the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, some stadiums were temporarily renamed because FIFA prohibits sponsorship of stadiums. For example,
10880-409: The game's key career power-hitting records. He broke the long-standing MLB record for career home runs held by Babe Ruth and remained the career leader for 33 years, until Barry Bonds surpassed his famous total of 755 in 2007. He hit 24 or more home runs every year from 1955 through 1973 and is one of only two players to hit 30 or more home runs in a season at least fifteen times. Aaron holds
11016-500: The influx of minorities into baseball. Aaron founded the Hank Aaron Rookie League program. Shortly before the start of the 2002 baseball season , Aaron joined San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds —on the heels of his record-shattering performance the season before —to make a television commercial that aired during Super Bowl XXXVI , in which Aaron jokingly tried to persuade Bonds to retire before breaking
11152-476: The largest among them, are megaprojects that can only be afforded by the largest corporations, wealthiest individuals, or government. Sports fans have a deep emotional attachment to their teams. In North America, with its closed-league " franchise " system, there are fewer teams than cities which would like them. This creates tremendous bargaining power for the owners of teams, whereby owners can threaten to relocate teams to other cities unless governments subsidize
11288-504: The lead of Aerosmith and including Mötley Crüe , Quiet Riot , W.A.S.P. and Ratt . Since the 1980s, rock, pop and folk stars, including the Grateful Dead , Madonna , Michael Jackson , Beyoncé , Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift , have undertaken large-scale stadium based concert tours . Hank Aaron MLB records Henry Louis Aaron (February 5, 1934 – January 22, 2021), nicknamed " Hammer " or " Hammerin' Hank ",
11424-468: The massive coverage of the home run record, Grizzard quietly had an obituary written, afraid that Aaron might be murdered. Sports Illustrated pointedly summarized the racist vitriol that Aaron was forced to endure: Is this to be the year in which Aaron, at the age of thirty-nine, takes a moon walk above one of the most hallowed individual records in American sport...? Or will it be remembered as
11560-418: The mid-1970s as the increased power of amplification and sound systems allowed the use of larger and larger venues. Smoke, fireworks and sophisticated lighting shows became staples of arena rock performances. Key acts from this era included Journey , REO Speedwagon , Boston , Foreigner , Styx , Kiss , Peter Frampton and Queen . In the 1980s arena rock became dominated by glam metal bands, following
11696-456: The mile (536 m); outside there was a 35-foot-wide (11 m), 660-yard (600 m) cycle track. The infield included a swimming and diving pool. The London Highbury Stadium , built in 1913, was the first stadium in the UK to feature a two-tiered seating arrangement when it was redesigned in the Art Deco style in 1936. During these decades, parallel stadium developments were taking place in
11832-481: The modern stadium. The first stadiums to be built in the modern era were basic facilities, designed for the single purpose of fitting as many spectators in as possible. With tremendous growth in the popularity of organised sport in the late Victorian era , especially association football in the United Kingdom and baseball in the United States, the first such structures were built. One such early stadium
11968-613: The most famous being the Stadium of Domitian , in Rome. The excavated and refurbished ancient Panathenaic Stadium hosted attempted revivals of the Olympic Games in 1870 and 1875 before hosting the first modern Olympics in 1896 , the 1906 Intercalated Games , and some events of the 2004 Summer Olympics . The excavation and refurbishment of the stadium was part of the legacy of the Greek national benefactor Evangelos Zappas , and it
12104-481: The name of one of FIFA's major sponsors , was known by its historic name of Ellis Park Stadium during the 2010 FIFA World Cup . Corporate names are also temporarily replaced during the Olympics. Modern stadiums bring several negative environmental issues with their construction. They require thousands of tons of materials to build, they greatly increase traffic in the area around the stadium, as well as maintaining
12240-401: The namesake corporation changes its name, or if it is the naming agreement simply expires. Phoenix's Chase Field , for example, was previously known as Bank One Ballpark, but was renamed to reflect the takeover of the latter corporation. San Francisco's historic Candlestick Park was renamed as 3Com Park for several years, but the name was dropped when the sponsorship agreement expired, and it
12376-475: The old stadiums they replace. In North America, where baseball and American football are the two most popular outdoor spectator sports, a number of football/baseball multi-use stadiums were built, especially during the 1960s, and some of them were successful. Since the requirements for baseball and football are significantly different, the trend has been toward the construction of single-purpose stadiums, beginning with Kansas City in 1972–1973 and accelerating in
12512-828: The public. An "all-seater" stadium has seats for all spectators. Other stadiums are designed so that all or some spectators stand to view the event. The term "all-seater" is not common in the U.S., as very few American stadiums have sizeable standing-only sections. Poor stadium design has contributed to disasters, such as the Hillsborough disaster and the Heysel Stadium disaster . Since these, all Premier League , UEFA European Championship and FIFA World Cup qualifying matches require all spectators to be seated. Seating areas may be known as terraces , tiers , or decks . Originally set out for standing room only, they are now usually equipped with seating. Another term used in
12648-456: The record in Atlanta and was therefore going to have Aaron sit out the first three games of the season. But Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn ruled that he had to play two games in the first series. He played two out of three and tied Babe Ruth's record on April 4, 1974, in his first at-bat on his first swing of the season—off Reds pitcher Jack Billingham , but did not hit another home run in
12784-562: The record. As Bonds began to close in on the record during the 2007 season, Aaron let it be known that, although he recognized Bonds' achievements, he would not be present when Bonds broke the record. There was considerable speculation that this was a snubbing of Bonds based on the widespread belief that Bonds had used performance-enhancing drugs and steroids to aid his achievement. However, some observers looked back on Aaron's personal history, pointing out that he had downplayed his own breaking of Babe Ruth's all-time record and suggesting Aaron
12920-462: The season in which Aaron, the most dignified of athletes, was besieged with hate mail and trapped by the cobwebs and goblins that lurk in baseball's attic? At the end of the 1973 season, Aaron received a plaque from the U.S. Postal Service for receiving more mail (930,000 pieces) than any person excluding politicians. Aaron received an outpouring of public support in response to the bigotry . In August 1973, Peanuts cartoonist Charles Schulz drew
13056-412: The series. The Braves returned to Atlanta, and on April 8, 1974, a crowd of 53,775 people showed up for the game—a Braves attendance record. The game was also broadcast nationally on NBC . In the fourth inning, Aaron hit home run number 715 off Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Al Downing . Although Dodgers outfielder Bill Buckner nearly went over the outfield fence trying to catch it, the ball flew into
13192-480: The south shore of the Saint-Charles River . The ballpark is often informally referred to as simply "Parc Victoria" by local residents even though the field only occupies about a quarter of the park's total area. Modest in capacity relative to the size of the city's population, it has been well-attended during Capitales home games. Section source: In 1937, then-Premier of Quebec, Maurice Duplessis ,
13328-533: The south stand under cover, while the remaining three stands were left as terraces and uncovered. It was the first stadium to feature continuous seating along the contours of the stadium. These early venues, originally designed to host football matches, were adopted for use by the Olympic Games, the first one being held in 1896 in Athens , Greece. The White City Stadium , built for the 1908 Summer Olympics in London
13464-748: The stadium due to World War II. After the end of the war baseball was once again played at Stade Municipal. Under new ownership, the Athletics were renamed the Alouettes . They became an affiliate of the Chicago Cubs in 1946 and of the New York Giants in 1948. However, from 1946 to 1948, the Alouettes were not successful on the field, finishing last every year. In 1948, the Alouettes were sold to businessman Ulysse Ste-Marie . Wanting to get his newly acquired team back on track, he began by changing
13600-413: The stadium while keeping its historic side. In October 2016, a group named Complexe de Baseball Victoria (CBV) officially took over management of the stadium from the city. An estimated 3.3 M$ was slated to be invested to install a synthetic field and fences which can be moved to create 2-3 smaller fields. The deal between the city and CBV also allowed them to sell the stadium naming rights. In late 2016,
13736-401: The stadium's history. The vastly differing character of European football stadiums has led to the growing hobby of ground hopping where spectators make a journey to visit the stadium for itself rather than for the event held there. In recent years the trend of building completely new oval stadiums in Europe has led to traditionalists criticising the designs as bland and lacking in the character of
13872-536: The stadium. The increased traffic around modern stadiums has led to create exposure zones says the Health Effect Institute, exposing 30–40% of people living around the stadium to potential health issues. Many stadiums are attempting to counteract these issues by implementing solar panels, and high efficiency lighting, to reduce their own carbon footprint. Although concerts, such as classical music, had been presented in them for decades, beginning in
14008-491: The start of the "jewel box" era of park construction. The largest stadium crowd ever was 199,854 people watching the final match of the 1950 World Cup at Rio de Janeiro 's Maracanã on 16 July 1950. Domed stadiums are distinguished from conventional stadiums by their enclosing roofs. Many of these are not actually domes in the pure architectural sense, some being better described as vaults , some having truss -supported roofs and others having more exotic designs such as
14144-593: The streets. His boyhood idol was baseball star Jackie Robinson . Aaron attended Central High School as a freshman and a sophomore . Like most high schools, they did not have organized baseball, so he played outfield and third base for the Mobile Black Bears , a semipro team. Aaron was a member of the Boy Scouts of America . Although he batted cross-handed (as a right-handed hitter, with his left hand above his right), Aaron established himself as
14280-465: The team was responsible for arranging housing and meals for its players, but Aaron often had to make his own arrangements. The Braves' manager, Ben Geraghty , tried his best to help Aaron on and off the field. Former Braves minor league player and sportswriter Pat Jordan said, "Aaron gave [Geraghty] much of the credit for his own swift rise to stardom." That same year, Aaron met his future wife, Barbara Lucas. The night they met, Lucas decided to attend
14416-466: The team when he retired, but the role would be more in public relations, rather than one where he could evaluate talent. At the end of the season, Aaron, who had a prior relationship with Brewers owner Bud Selig , requested a trade to Milwaukee. He was acquired by the Milwaukee Brewers for Dave May thirty-one days later on November 2. Minor league right-handed pitcher Roger Alexander
14552-472: The team's name to the Quebec Braves . Ste-Marie also hired a new manager for his team, Frank McCormick , a former 9-time MLB All-Star for the Cincinnati Reds . During his first year as their manager, the Braves won 90 games, 34 more than the previous year, and clinched the 1949 Canadian–American League pennant, however McCormick quit the team after only one year. For the 1950 season, Ste-Marie hired
14688-439: The theatre, with its seating arrangements foreshadowing those of modern stadiums. The Romans copied the theatre, then expanded it to accommodate larger crowds and more elaborate settings. The Romans also developed the double-sized round theatre called amphitheatre , seating crowds in the tens of thousands for gladiatorial combats and beast shows. The Greek stadium and theatre and the Roman circus and amphitheatre are all ancestral to
14824-544: The time Aaron retired, he and his brother held the record for most career home runs by a pair of siblings (768). While he was born in a section of Mobile referred to as "Down the Bay", he spent most of his youth in Toulminville . Aaron grew up in a poor family. His family could not afford baseball equipment, so he practiced by hitting bottle caps with sticks. He would create his own bats and balls out of materials he found on
14960-568: The unanimous choice for Rookie of the Year. Although he appeared in just 87 games, he scored 89 runs , had 116 hits, nine home runs, and 61 RBI. In addition, Aaron hit for a .336 batting average. During his minor league experience, he was very homesick and faced constant racism, but his brother, Herbert Jr., told him not to give up the opportunity. In 1953, the Braves promoted him to the Jacksonville Braves , their Class-A affiliate in
15096-517: The various codes of rugby , field lacrosse , bandy , and bullfighting . Many large sports venues are also used for concerts. "Stadium" is the Latin form of the Greek word " stadion " ( στάδιον ), a measure of length equalling the length of 600 human feet. As feet are of variable length the exact length of a stadion depends on the exact length adopted for 1 foot at a given place and time. Although in modern terms 1 stadion = 600 ft (180 m), in
15232-562: The venue. Luxury suites at events such as the Super Bowl can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Due to the number of people congregating in stadiums and the frequency of events, many notable accidents have occurred in the past, some causing injury and death. For example, the Hillsborough disaster was a human crush at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield , England on 15 April 1989. The resulting 97 deaths and 765 injuries makes this
15368-468: The world. The architect Archibald Leitch brought his experience with the construction of industrial buildings to bear on the design of functional stadiums up and down the country. His work encompassed the first 40 years of the 20th century. One of his most notable designs was Old Trafford in Manchester. The ground was originally designed with a capacity of 100,000 spectators and featured seating in
15504-461: The worst disaster in British sporting history. Much effort has been spent to avoid the recurrence of such events, both in design and legislation. Especially where there is a perceived risk of terrorism or violence attention remains high to prevent human death and keep stadiums as places where families can enjoy a public event together. In Europe and South America, during the twentieth century, it
15640-453: The year came to a close, Aaron broke Stan Musial 's major-league record for total bases (6,134). He finished the season with 673 career home runs. Aaron himself downplayed the "chase" to surpass Babe Ruth, while baseball enthusiasts and the national media grew increasingly excited as he closed in on the 714 career home runs record. Aaron received thousands of letters every week during the summer of 1973, including hate mail; he ended up asking
15776-585: Was Boston 's Harvard Stadium , built in 1903 by Harvard University for its American football team and track and field program. It was the world's first stadium to use concrete-and-steel construction. In 1909, concrete-and-steel construction came to baseball with the opening of Shibe Park in Philadelphia and, a few months later, Forbes Field in Pittsburgh . The latter was the world's first three-tiered sporting venue. The opening of these parks marked
15912-467: Was able to hit the ball more effectively all over the field . During his stay in Puerto Rico, Owen also helped Aaron transition from second base to the outfield. Aaron had not played well at second base, but Owen noted that Aaron could catch fly balls and throw them well from the outfield to the infield. The stint in Puerto Rico also allowed Aaron to avoid being drafted into military service. Though
16048-665: Was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1954 through 1976. Considered one of the greatest baseball players in history, he spent 21 seasons with the Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves in the National League (NL) and two seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers in the American League (AL). At the time of his retirement, Aaron held most of
16184-637: Was an NL All-Star for 20 seasons and an AL All-Star for one season, and he holds the record for the most All-Star selections (25), while sharing the record for most All-Star Games played (24) with Willie Mays and Stan Musial . He was a three-time Gold Glove winner, and in 1957, he won the NL Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award when the Milwaukee Braves won the World Series . Aaron was born and raised in and around Mobile, Alabama , one of eight children. He appeared briefly in
16320-613: Was another two years before the new name of Monster Cable Products ' Monster Park was applied. Local opposition to the corporate naming of that particular stadium led San Francisco's city council to permanently restore the Candlestick Park name once the Monster contract expired. More recently, in Ireland, there has been huge opposition to the renaming of Dublin 's historic Lansdowne Road as the Aviva Stadium . Lansdowne
16456-585: Was built on a triangular city block in The Bronx , New York City. This resulted in a large left field dimension but a small right field dimension. Before more modern football stadiums were built in the United States, many baseball parks, including Fenway Park , the Polo Grounds , Wrigley Field , Comiskey Park , Tiger Stadium , Griffith Stadium , Milwaukee County Stadium , Shibe Park , Forbes Field , Yankee Stadium , and Sportsman's Park were used by
16592-686: Was common for violent bands of supporters to fight inside or close to association football stadiums. In the United Kingdom they are known as hooligans . Structural features that increase safety include separate entry and exit accesses for each spectator area, especially separating accesses for home and visitor supporters, dividing walls, glass parapets, vibration attenuation and sprinkler systems. Security features that have been adopted include armed surveillance, Identity document checks, video surveillance , metal detectors and security searches to enforce rules that forbid spectators to carry dangerous or potentially dangerous items. Modern stadiums, especially
16728-406: Was exceptional for the Carnavals. They managed to clinch their division pennant and five of their outfielders would go on to play in Major League Baseball, Warren Cromartie , Jesus Bombo Rivera , Tony Scott , Ellis Valentine and Jerry White . In 1975, the Carnavals began to experience extreme financial struggles at which François Bonetto became the new team owner and changed the team's name, as
16864-666: Was known to family and friends primarily as "Henry". Braves' public relations director Don Davidson, observing Aaron's quiet, reserved nature, began referring to him publicly as "Hank" in order to suggest more accessibility. The nickname quickly gained currency, but "Henry" continued to be cited frequently in the media, both sometimes appearing in the same article, and Aaron would answer to either one. During his rookie year, his other well-known nicknames, "Hammerin' Hank" (by teammates) and "Bad Henry" (by opposing pitchers) are reported to have arisen. While living in Milwaukee, Aaron resided in
17000-459: Was on that April evening in 1974, is that the achievement of this record will inspire others to chase their own dreams. Aaron's autobiography, I Had A Hammer , co-written with the help of writer Lonnie Wheeler , was published in 1990 and was a finalist for the Casey Award . The book's title is a play on his nickname, "The Hammer" or "Hammerin' Hank", and the title of the folk song " If I Had
17136-442: Was on the roster of its farm club, Milwaukee manager Charley Grimm later stated, "From the start, he did so well I knew we were going to have to carry him." On March 13, 1954, Milwaukee Braves left fielder Bobby Thomson fractured his ankle while sliding into second base during a spring training game. The next day, Aaron made his first spring training start for the Braves major league team, playing in left field and hitting
17272-529: Was redeveloped as the Aviva, opening in May 2010. On the other hand, Los Angeles' Great Western Forum , one of the earliest examples of corporate renaming, retained its name for many years, even after the namesake bank no longer existed, the corporate name being dropped only after the building later changed ownership. This practice has typically been less common in countries outside the United States. A notable exception
17408-563: Was reportedly the first floodlit stadium. Floodlighting in association football dates as far back as 1878, when there were floodlit experimental matches at Bramall Lane, Sheffield during the dark winter afternoons. With no national grid , lights were powered by batteries and dynamoes , and were unreliable. Since the development of electrical grids, lighting has been an important element in stadium design, allowing games to be played after sundown, and in covered, or partly covered stadiums that allow less natural light, but provide more shelter for
17544-799: Was sent to the Braves to complete the transaction at the Winter Meetings one month later on December 2. The trade re-united Aaron with former teammate Del Crandall , who was now managing the Brewers. He signed a two-year contract with the Brewers for $ 240,000 per year. Playing in the American League allowed Aaron to serve as a designated hitter rather than play in the field. On May 1, 1975, Aaron broke baseball's all-time RBI record, previously held by Ruth with 2,213. That year, he also played in his last and 24th All-Star Game (25th All-Star Game selection); he lined out to Dave Concepción as
17680-424: Was simply treating Bonds in a similar fashion. In a later interview with Atlanta sportscasting personality Chris Dimino, Aaron made it clear his reluctance to attend any celebration of a new home run record was based upon his personal conviction that baseball is not about breaking records, but simply playing to the best of one's potential. After Bonds hit his record-breaking 756th home run on August 7, 2007, Aaron made
17816-509: Was the Lansdowne Road Stadium , the brainchild of Henry Dunlop , who organised the first All Ireland Athletics Championships. Banned from locating sporting events at Trinity College, Dunlop built the stadium in 1872. "I laid down a cinder running path of a quarter-mile, laid down the present Lansdowne Tennis Club ground with my own theodolite, started a Lansdowne archery club, a Lansdowne cricket club, and last, but not least,
17952-468: Was the first ancient stadium to be used in modern times. Stadiums in ancient Greece and Rome were built for different purposes, and at first only the Greeks built structures called "stadium"; Romans built structures called " circus ". Greek stadia were for foot races, whereas the Roman circus was for horse races. Both had similar shapes and bowl-like areas around them for spectators. The Greeks also developed
18088-525: Was the first such ballpark for Major League Baseball to be built, using early-20th-century styling with 21st-century amenities. There is a solar-powered stadium in Taiwan that produces as much energy as it needs to function. Stadium designers often study acoustics to increase noise caused by fans' voices, aiming to create a lively atmosphere. Until the advent of floodlights , most games played on large areas had to rely on natural lighting. Bramall Lane
18224-666: Was the only player to hit a home run during that game. In 1955, the Provincial League and the Quebec Braves ceased operations. During their seven year-existence, the Braves were considered a dynasty winning a total of six championships. In 1957, Quebec City found itself without a professional baseball team as the Minor Leagues in North America were going through a tough time. However, Hugues Beaudoin,
18360-595: Was unable to achieve this. After the game, Aaron said his only fear was that he might not live to see the 1974 season . He was the recipient of death threats and a large assortment of hate mail during the 1973–1974 offseason from people who did not want to see Aaron break Ruth's nearly sacrosanct home run record. The threats extended to those providing positive press coverage of Aaron. Lewis Grizzard , then-executive sports editor of The Atlanta Journal , reported receiving numerous phone calls calling journalists "nigger lovers" for covering Aaron's chase. While preparing
18496-463: Was worried someone could try to shoot Aaron, and she thought nobody would try to shoot him if she was hugging him. Braves announcer Milo Hamilton , calling the game on WSB radio, described the scene as Aaron broke the record: Henry Aaron, in the second inning, walked and scored. He's sittin' on 714. Here's the pitch by Downing. Swinging. There's a drive into left-center field. That ball is gonna be-eee ... Outta here! It's gone! It's 715! There's
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