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Remembering Aaron's historic HR on his 82nd birthday

MLB Photos / Major League Baseball / Getty

On April 8, 1974, more than 53,000 fans packed themselves into Fulton County Stadium for a chance to witness history. Hank Aaron, the venerable Atlanta Braves icon who turns 82 on Friday, didn't disappoint.

For Aaron - who, with 714 career homers, took the field for Atlanta's home opener tied with Babe Ruth for history's all-time record - the timing was pretty much perfect, too, even though Al Downing - the left-hander on the mound for the Los Angeles Dodgers - refused to cooperate at first, walking Aaron in his first plate appearance of the night.

In the fourth inning, when Aaron came to bat for the second time, the building was pretty much shaking, rife with anticipation so great that play-by-play man Vin Scully encouraged Downing to "ignore the sound effects and stay a professional and pitch his game."

Almost as if heeding Scully's words, Downing - unwilling to walk Aaron for a second time - did something he didn't dare try in their first confrontation: he threw a ball over the plate. It was a mistake, though, that offering from Downing, a 1-0 fastball over the heart of the plate. Aaron wasn't fooled.

(Courtesy: MLB.com)

After the game, and that infamous trip around the bases, Aaron was relieved. The quest had taken a toll, and the racially-charged invective thrown his way as he chased down Ruth had "changed" him, he said, but for more than three decades, baseball's most hallowed record belonged to the poor black kid from Alabama.

"I just thank God it's all over," Aaron said at the time.

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