Remembering Hank Aaron's Record-Breaking 715th Home Run That Passed Babe Ruth

Babe Ruth's 714 total home runs was a record mark that many baseball fans just assumed no one would ever come close to breaking.

Atlanta Braves superstar Hank Aaron proved those doubters wrong on this day in 1974. In a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the 40-year-old Aaron walloped a pitch from starter Al Downing and sent it over the wall for career home run No. 715.

The image of Aaron clouting a Downing meatball into the bullpen at the old Fulton County Stadium and being congratulated by fans as he rounded second base makes for one of the most classic images in baseball history.

Aaron ended his career with 755 home runs, 3,771 hits, 25 All-Star game appearances, and a lifetime .305 average. He remains the all-time leader in RBI, with 2,297, and total bases, with 6,856, after all these years.

Barry Bonds might have passed him on the home run charts, but that doesn't take away from the fact that Aaron is clearly on baseball's Mount Rushmore due to his historically dominant play on the field for over two decades, and his contributions to the game off of it.