The Hank Aaron Home Run Chase

What was it like when Hank Aaron was chasing Babe Ruth? Former Braves executive Bob Hope talks about how Aaron handled the pressure.

Former Braves executive Bob Hope talks about the time period when Hank Aaron was chasing Babe Ruth’s home run record in 1974.

I was only four years old, so I do not remember it. I had a Hank Aaron t-shirt, but that is about it. It was four years later, when Aaron was long gone as a player, when I started watching the Braves.

I do wish I had been around as a fan when Aaron was making this chase. I wish I knew what the Hank Aaron-Atlanta Braves were like. Again, by the time I started watching, Aaron had already gone to Milwaukee to end his career as a Brewer and was then back as an executive in Atlanta’s front office.

My only connection was that I went to school with Britt Gaston’s sister. Gaston was one of the two men who chased Aaron between second and third base when he hit the home run off Al Downing. He was from my hometown, Waycross, Georgia.

I heard the story of when my algebra teacher had been watching the game on television with her husband, she saw Britt and Cliff Courtney running the bases and said, “Well, I guess I know why those two were not in class today.”

Hank Aaron later reconnected with both gentlemen to remember the moment.

It was a challenging time for Aaron, who faced pressure like we can never imagine. He survived and still holds a place in every Braves fans’ heart with his home run record.

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