YOU CAN'T SNEAK A SUNRISE PAST A ROOSTER.

Henry Aaron belongs to the ages.  He spent many years with the Braves in Milwaukee and Atlanta, and finished the 1973 season with 713 home runs.  The Commissioner of Baseball still wanted integrity in his game.

Over the winter, Aaron received death threats and hate mail from racist fans who didn’t want a Black man to break Ruth’s record. The Braves began the ’74 season in Cincinnati and Atlanta’s team management planned to sit Aaron for all three games to assure he would make history at home.

"I (later) got to see some of the mail and all the other garbage that took place back then," [Milwaukee Brewer announcer and former team-mate on the Braves Bob] Uecker said. "It was awful. He didn't let it stop him."

Commissioner Bowie Kuhn decreed that Aaron had to play in at least two games against the Reds, and Aaron tied [Yankee outfielder Babe] Ruth’s mark in his first at-bat but did not homer again in the series. The Braves returned home to play the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 8, and Aaron came through before a packed house.

In the fourth inning, Aaron socked No. 715 off Dodgers lefty Al Downing, sending a drive over the left-field fence and into the Atlanta bullpen, where the ball was caught by reliever Tom House.

Mr Downing was for a while on the Brewers' roster.  The record-breaking home run might have been a blow for civil rights.

Dodgers announcer Vin Scully described the significance of the home run in a historical perspective.

“What a marvelous moment for baseball. What a marvelous moment for Atlanta and the state of Georgia. What a marvelous moment for the country and the world,” Scully said. “A black man is getting a standing ovation in the Deep South for breaking the record of an all-time baseball idol. And it is a great moment for all of us, and particularly for Henry Aaron ...”

Scully went on to describe Aaron’s visible sense of relief after the tremendous strain he endured chasing Ruth’s hallowed record.

The racial overtones were impossible to miss. A legendary white player had held the record for more than 50 years, and then just a decade after landmark Civil Rights legislation became law, Aaron was about to pass him.

One of organized baseball's records still is Mr Aaron's.

Aaron finished with 755 career home runs, holding the record for 40 years until he was passed by Barry Bonds in 2014. However, he has said the home run record wasn’t his most important statistical accomplishment.

Aaron still holds baseball’s all-time record for most runs batted in, with 2,297. He’s said the ability to bring his teammates around the bases to score was more important to him than hitting home runs. He also remains the all-time leader in total bases with 6,856.

On Jan. 5, Aaron got vaccinated against COVID-19 in Georgia, hoping to send a message to Black Americans that the shots are safe.

RIP.