Product Description

Baseball has witnessed more than 125,000 major-league home runs. Many have altered the outcomes of games, and some, swatted into the stands on dramatic last swings, have decided pennants and won reputations. But no home run has played a more significant role in influencing American society than Hank Aaron's 715th.

Aaron's historic blast -- and the yearlong quest leading up to it -- not only shook baseball but the world at large. It exposed prejudice, energized a flagging civil rights movement, inspired a generation of children, and also called forth the dark demons that haunted Aaron's every step and turned what should have been a joyous pursuit into a hellish nightmare. In Hank Aaron and the Home Run That Changed America, Tom Stanton, author of the prize-winning The Final Season, penetrates the burnished myth of Aaron's chase and uncovers the compelling story behind the most consequential athletic achievement of the past fifty years.

The tale takes place during tumultuous times, the years of 1973 and 1974, as the Watergate scandal unfolds and the Vietnam War sputters to an end. It's the era of Ali and Archie Bunker, of Wounded Knee and Patty Hearst, of Roe v. Wade and Billie Jean King versus Bobby Riggs, of oil shortages, and of a nation struggling with deep divisions. At the center of the social storm stands a private, dignified man -- Hank Aaron -- who rises to accept the mantle of his recently deceased idol, Jackie Robinson, and becomes emboldened by the purpose of his mission: to break the record of sport's greatest legend, Babe Ruth, not only for himself but for the advancement of all African Americans and for the good of his country.

Along the way, Aaron endures bigots, zealous fans, hate mail, FBI investigations, bodyguards, the ambivalence of his adopted hometown, a batting slump unlike any other, the sniping comments of Babe Ruth's widow, the slights of baseball's commissioner, a string of controversies, and constant threats to his and his children's lives. The story features a rich cast of characters: a friend and sometime rival, Willie Mays, who must come to terms with the end of his own career; Aaron's hard-as-iron protector, manager Eddie Mathews; a young, self-assured, occasionally cocky protégé, Dusty Baker; a future president, Jimmy Carter; a preacher of rising prominence, the Reverend Jesse Jackson; stars like Willie Stargell and Tom Seaver; and a roster of equally colorful, lesser-known peers.

But at the heart of the narrative is Hank Aaron, a class player who refused to preen at home plate or strut shamelessly around the bases even as he reached the pinnacle of the national pastime. Three decades later, Tom Stanton brings to life on these pages the elusive spirit of an American hero.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1204614 in Books
• Published on: 2004-03
• Released on: 2004-03-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 256 pages

From Publishers Weekly
In April 1974, Hank Aaron hit his 715th home run, breaking Babe Ruth's longstanding record for homers, which Aaron had days earlier tied on his first swing of the '74 baseball season. Stanton, whose The Final Season won the Casey Award for best baseball book of 2001, gives a solid account of Aaron's career and the tumultuous year preceding his historic run. This is a fitting celebration in advance of the upcoming 30th anniversary of the event, as well as a solid tribute to the man who "played in more games, got more at-bats, knocked in more runs, collected more total bases, recorded more extra-base hits, and hit more home runsâ€"755â€"than any other ballplayer." The most fascinating and horrifying part of Stanton's accountâ€"sadly for baseball historyâ€"is the extent to which Aaron's historic run was marred by constant hate mail and death threats from so-called fans angry that a black man would soon be breaking a white man's record. Stanton effectively uses ballpark attendance records to show that, while Aaron was selling out stadiums across the country, his own Atlanta Braves ballpark was "two-thirds empty" on the day that he hit home run 700, and that 10,000 seats were unsold before the day he broke the record, while 35 million to 40 million people watched or listened to the game worldwide. Stanton shows how Aaron came to understand that "the home run record carried significance beyond baseball," and how he effectively used the media attention to consciously continue the legacy of Jackie Robinson and strongly argue for the increased role of African-Americans in major league baseball management.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Stanton covers the time from the funeral of Jackie Robinson in 1972 to the spring of 1974, when Hank Aaron hit his 715th home run and passed Babe Ruth's record. His prose is awash in that sentimental, old-fashioned baseball reporting style as he connects Aaron to Ruth; to Robinson, who was one of Aaron's heroes; to Willie Mays, nearly Aaron's contemporary and the other great black player during his era; and to other black players of the time, including Dusty Baker. Stanton is at pains to describe the viciousness of the hate mail Aaron was subjected to as he challenged Ruth, the threats to his family, and the lack of support the Atlanta Braves got at home. But he also writes about the groundswell of support that grew for Aaron and the fan ecstasy that accompanied him at the end and beyond. It's a sobering tale, but a hero's story. GraceAnne DeCandido
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
"Powerful...Baseball books rarely reach the heights of Stanton’s...Excellent." -- Chicago Tribune

Customer Reviews

Baseball's Greatest Record and the Man who Broke It!
Like author Tom Stanton, I was a little boy when Henry Louis Aaron was closing in on baseball's crown jewel record: Babe Ruth's 714 home runs. I lived in Forest Park, Georgia, about 12 miles south of Atlanta Stadium, and I had the good fortune to be able to see about a half dozen of Mr. Aaron's home runs in person. I played with the other boys in our neighborhood, and when the Braves were playing we always had the radio on. We could talk and joke and laugh through the rest of the game, but our voices would hush when Milo Hamilton would tell us "Aaron is on deck". Hank would come to the plate and our room would erupt with joy if we got to hear Milo's typical home run call. "There's a long drive.... It's going back.... WAY back.... It's OUT of here! Home Run number 683 for Henry Aaron!"

Anyway - I had to begin this review by admitting what a HUGE hero Hank Aaron is in my life.

All that being said, this book is both very informative and disappointingly bland. It was good to hear the names of those Braves from the past - in particular Aaron progeny Dusty Baker and Ralph Garr. Darrell Evans and Davey Johnson who joined Aaron as the only 3 teammates in history to hit 40 home runs the same year. (1973, the year before historic #715). Eddie Matthews, who was once Hank's teammate, the two teammates with the most life-time home runs, then served as Hank's manager during the years that make up the bulk of the book. Hall of Fame teammates Phil Niekro and Warren Spahn. Hall of Fame opponents like Bob Gibson, Tom Seaver and Don Sutton.

Most enlightening were the details of the paths Hank followed behind Jackie Robinson as a ground-breaking African-American excelling in the National Pasttime. Most heart-breaking were the tales of hate mail and death threats that he received every day. To right-thinking people it is inconceivable that a man could receive death threats only because he was doing his job as well as any person had ever done it.

The four stars are because I didn't come close to receiving the same thrill that this same material could have given me if presented properly. Stanton is a terrific researcher, but his writing style feels clinically cold. If America is a country of "Tall Tales" and our best legends are the real living ones, then certainly Hank Aaron must be one of America's Greatest Heroes by any definition. Stanton says as much in this book, but there's what you say, then there's how you say it. Nonetheless, this is the best record I know of covering these events, and I'd call it "required reading" for anyone wanting to know about Hammering Hank.

More than a sports book...
It's simply unbelievable to think that the years 1973 and 1974, years after the progress of the civil rights movement, saw Hank Aaron come under fire of severe racial hatred and prejudice. His crime? He went after the "sacred" all-time home run record of Babe Ruth. Death threats, tinged with racial slurs, to himself and his family followed him as he slowly approached home run number 715. Some ugly undercurrents of American society simultaneously emerged.

This book recounts Aaron's journey from an underrated baseball star of the 1950s and 1960s to an undisputed baseball legend. It even harkens back to Babe Ruth's days of fast and reckless living as he slammed 714 home runs throughout the 1920s and 1930s. This record was thought by many to be completely untouchable (and termed "The Mountain"). So who was this Henry "Hank" Aaron, a not so celebrated but extremely well-rounded player, from the Braves to suddenly come out of almost nowhere to challenge the sport's demi-god? People finally began to notice as Aaron snuck up on the all-time record. By the time he reached number 700 a country-wide media craze exploded. Aaron found himself caught in the middle complete with body guards, a private secretary, appearances on television shows, magazines, hordes of fan mail, and, most significantly, horrific hate mail. Even Babe Ruth's widow didn't seem too enthusiastic about Aaron's increasing home run numbers. Even more unbeliveable, the baseball commissioner at the time, Bowie Kuhn, didn't personally congratulate Aaron on #700. And on top of that, the book even records that, as Aaron went for the big record, Atlanta fans showed up in increasingly smaller numbers to home games. But eventually they redeemed themselves. And we all know how the story ends, but this book provides many details for those of us who weren't, or couldn't be, there.

This book will interest not only baseball fans, but fans of popular culture in general. After all, Aaron's record represents one of the biggest pop culture events of the past 40 years (which has resurfaced with Barry Bonds). The ugly underneath and Aaron's eventual triumph in the face of this adversity will inspire anyone.

This book represents one of those great sports books that goes beyond sports to show its impact on society in general. By his perserverance, Hank Aaron opened roads for many people in popular culture. This fact has gone underappreciated for too long. And this book attempts to fill this gap by showcasing the accomplishments of Hank Aaron that will likely outlast even his incredible baseball records.

I-Opener
I was born in 1981. I became a Braves fan in 1989. Throughout my youth and the many division titles of the Braves, I heard many stories about Hammerin' Hank from broadcasters, former teammates, colleauges etc. I never paid much attention to them other than how many homers he hit. As I eased into college, I started listening to the issues surrounding Aaron's story. I heard about the racism and threats the man had to deal with on a daily basis during his chase, but I knew that I never had the full story. I'm two years out of school and have finally gotten around to reading about one of the most underrated and talented players to set foot on a baseball field. I still don't know the full story, but Tom Stanton has given me a wonderful starting point.

Stanton is magnificent. The reviewers' opinions are not hype but have substance. He does an excellent job of presenting the story from several vantage points. After reading, I knew what the press was thinking, what the men, such as Matthews and Baker, saw in their teammate. The view from a national standpoint versus the people of Atlanta. This is one aspect where Stanton stands out from most authors. He captures the mentality of the Atlanta fans then and, since I follow the Braves, relate them to the way they are today. He really is able to capture the essence of Atlanta baseball fans and the city. To me this aspect was important in understanding the day to day of Aaron's life without making the story slow.

I can't say enough about this book. Bottom line, if you want a genuine take on Aaron's background and chase after the record, this book has as much substance as Hank has class.