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44 years ago, No. 44 makes baseball history | Hank Aaron breaks HR record

'I never want them to forget Babe Ruth. I just want them to remember Henry Aaron.'
LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 25: Baseball Hall of Famer Hank Aaron attends the 2017 Hank Aaron Award press conference prior to game two of the 2017 World Series between the Houston Astros and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Photo by Tim Bradbury/Getty Images

ATLANTA -- Forty-four years ago today, Hank Aaron sent a 1-0 pitch from Los Angeles pitcher Al Dowling over the outfield wall of Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, and earned a place in baseball immortality.

It was on April 8, 1974, when Aaron, after a long offseason where his career sat at 714 home runs, broke Babe Ruth's all-time baseball record.

Born in Mobile, Ala., Aaron's big-league career began in 1954 with the Milwaukee Braves, who relocated to Atlanta in 1966. Aaron remained with the team through 1974, and then ended his career two seasons later with the Milwaukee Brewers.

Aaron's lifetime numbers are 3,771 hits; 624 doubles; 98 triples; 2,297 RBIs; 240 stolen bases; 1,402 walks; and a lifetime batting average of .305.

Aaron tied Ruth's record at the end of the 1973 season, setting up a full offseason of anticipation until the '74 season began.

The closer he got to Ruth's record, however, the more vitriolic his detractors became. Aaron received thousands of hate-filled letters and death threats. But the grace and humility with which he handled the pressure may be an even greater legacy than his remarkable baseball career.

“I never want them to forget Babe Ruth," Aaron said in his Baseball Hall of Fame induction speech. "I just want them to remember Henry Aaron.”

Hank, no one will ever forget you.

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