50 years ago today, Milwaukee icon Hank Aaron hit his 715th career home run, surpassing the great Babe Ruth for the all-time lead.
Better chroniclers than me have written about the impact that moment had on the world, far beyond the confines of MLB. For a black man, a mere ten years after the Civil Rights act, to take the home run crown from arguably the best hitter to have ever lived, and to do it while playing for a team in the Deep South . . . wow.
I wish he'd broken the record in Milwaukee, his baseball home for the vast majority of his career. But it probably did hold more significance coming as it did in the old Confederacy.
RIP Hank. You're still the record holder in my eyes.
