April 1974
Events
- April 8, 1974Hank Aaron breaks Babe Ruth's all-time home run record
Hank Aaron of the Atlanta Braves hits his 715th career home run off Al Downing of the Los Angeles Dodgers, breaking Babe Ruth's supposedly unbreakable record amid death threats and racist harassment.
- April 8, 1974Hank Aaron breaks Babe Ruth's all-time home run record
On April 8, 1974, Hank Aaron hit his 715th career home run off Al Downing, surpassing Babe Ruth's record that had stood for 39 years. Aaron accomplished this amid a torrent of death threats and racist hate mail, making the achievement a powerful statement of Black excellence under pressure.