“I looked for the same pitch my whole career, a breaking ball. All of the time. I never worried about the fastball. They couldn’t throw it past me, none of them.” - Hank Aaron
Apr. 8, 1974 - Hank Aaron hit his 715th home run to break Babe Ruth’s home run record
As the 1974 season began, Hank Aaron’s pursuit of the record caused a small controversy. The Braves opened the season on the road in Cincinnati with a three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds. Braves management wanted him to break the record in Atlanta, and were therefore going to have Aaron sit out the first three games of the season. But Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn ruled that he had to play two games in the first series. He played two out of three, tying Babe Ruth’s record in his very first at bat — on his first swing of the season — off Reds pitcher Jack Billingham, but did not hit another home run in the series. The fence over which Hank Aaron hit his 715th career home run still exists outside of Turner Field.
The team returned to Atlanta, and on April 8, 1974, a crowd of 53,775 people showed up for the game—a Braves attendance record. The game was also broadcast nationally on NBC. In the fourth inning, Aaron hit career home run number 715 off Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Al Downing. Although Dodgers outfielder Bill Buckner nearly went over the outfield wall trying to catch it, the ball landed in the Braves’ bullpen, where relief pitcher Tom House caught it. While cannons were fired in celebration, two white college students sprinted onto the field and jogged alongside Aaron for part of his circuit around the bases, temporarily startling him. As the fans cheered wildly, Aaron’s parents ran onto the field as well.
Mar. 12, 1985 - Larry Bird scored a career high 60 points vs the Hawks
This came 9 days after Kevin McHale scored 56 points to set a new Celtics scoring record. When McHale came out of that game, Bird told him he should go for 60 and then 9 days later, Bird proved that he should have.
“Most ball games are lost, not won” - Casey Stengel
Feb. 8, 1986 - Spud Webb wins the 1986 NBA Slam Dunk Competition
Anthony Jerome “Spud” Webb was born July 13, 1963, in Dallas, Texas. Throughout his life, Webb had to prove himself as a basketball player due to his relatively small stature. As a high school player, he averaged 26 points per game and was one of 10 students out of 5,000 selected to the All-State team; however, his size prevented him from being recruited for Division 1-A colleges. Instead, he attended Midland Junior College in Texas, where he led his team to victory in the 1982 junior college championship. He then caught the attention of the coaches at North Carolina State University, where he went on to play for two years.
Despite a strong college career, his size initially kept him from making the NBA and after graduation he played in the U.S. Basketball League. In 1985, he had a successful tryout with the Atlanta Hawks and joined the team. Webb played six seasons with the Hawks, followed by stints with the Sacramento Kings, the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Orlando Magic.
One of the most memorable events of Webb’s career was his dunk contest win, which took place on February 8, 1986, at the NBA All-Star Game Weekend in Dallas. Webb, the shortest player to ever participate in the competition to that time, went up against men who were, in some cases, a foot taller. In the end, size didn’t matter. Webb dazzled the crowd with his soaring dunks and bested teammate Dominique Wilkins, who had won the 1985 contest by beating Michael Jordan. (The NBA’s first slam dunk competition was held in 1984.)
Webb retired from basketball in 1998, after 12 seasons in the NBA. He was said to have paved the way for other height-challenged NBA players, including 5’5” Earl Boykins and 5’3” Muggsy Bogues. In 2006, 5’9” Nate Robinson of the New York Knicks became the second-shortest player to emerge victorious in the NBA slam dunk contest. Spud Webb was on hand in Dallas for the event and during one dunk, Robinson jumped over him and put the ball through the hoop.
via history.com
Feb. 6, 1988 - 25 years ago MJ won his second consecutive Slam Dunk Contest
Basketball fans had been waiting for the MJ / Dominique Wilkins rematch since 1985. Injuries had derailed the Dunk Contest meet-up in 1986 and ‘87, but in 88, Michael and the “Human Highlight Reel” put on a classic duel.
Jordan’s victory over Wilkins in 1988 in Chicago finished with a perfect 50-score dunk from the free-throw line for his third dunk to win the contest. However, the announcers did note that Wilkins was given abnormally low score for his breathtaking third dunk, a 45, allowing Jordan to win it by 2 with his perfect 50. To this day, the allegations of “home cooking” still float around surrounding the event - it was held on Jordan’s home court; one of the judges was former Chicago Bears star Gayle Sayers; and another judge, former NBA star Tom Hawkins, is a Chicago native - and is considered arguably the most controversial of the slam dunk competitions. With this victory, Jordan became the first player to win the dunk contest two years in a row.
Scores from the 1988 Dunk Contest:
FIRST Round:
Michael Jordan(Chicago): 94 (47+47)
Dominique Wilkins (Atlanta): 96 (49+47)
Clyde Drexler (Portland): 88 (44+44)
Otis Smith (Golden State): 87 (40+47)
Jerome Kersey (Portland): 79 (41+38)
Greg Anderson (San Antonio): 76 (42+34)
Spud Webb (Atlanta): 52 (34+18)SEMIFINALS:
Michael Jordan(Chicago): 145 (50+48+47)
Dominique Wilkins (Atlanta): 143 (49+47+47)
Clyde Drexler (Portland): 133 (45+42+46)
Otis Smith (Golden State): 109 (45+22+42)FINALS:
Michael Jordan(Chicago): 147 (50+47+50)
Dominique Wilkins (Atlanta): 145 (50+50+45)
Highlights from Michael Jordan vs Dominique Wilkins 1988 Finals:
Babe Ruth, the jokester.
via Sports Illustrated vault
LIKE / REBLOG if you want Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons to WIN today’s NFC Championship Game.
Jan. 6, 1976 - Ted Turner purchased the Atlanta Braves for $12 million
The franchise was valued at $450 million in 2007. Incidentally, Turner was just recognized as the King of U.S. Landowners with 2 million acres.
“My motto was always to keep swinging. Whether I was in a slump or feeling badly or having trouble off the field, the only thing to do was keep swinging.” - Hank Aaron
No quote. Just Dominique Wilkins double dunk.
“The pitcher has got only a ball. I’ve got a bat. So the percentage of weapons is in my favor and I let the fellow with the ball do the fretting.” - Hank Aaron
Aug. 13, 2006 - Greg Maddux sets MLB record by making at least 25 starts in 20 straight seasons
In pitching 8 shutout innings against the Giants, Greg Maddux sets a major-league record becoming the first pitcher to make at least 25 starts in 20 consecutive seasons. Maddux had shared the record of 25 in 19 straight with Cy Young, Warren Spahn and Tom Glavine.
July 27, 1996 - Canadian Donovan Bailey ran the Men’s 100 Meter Dash with a time of 9.84
The previous record was 9.85 held by Leroy Burrell of the United States.
Video Donovan Bailey 100m Run (9.84)
July 20, 1976 - Hank Aaron hit his 755th and final home run in the majors.
Aaron hit the home run off of Dick Drago of the California Angels in front of his home crowd at Milwaukee County Stadium. His first career home run occurred over 22 years earlier, on April 23, 1954.
Aaron’s home run record lasted for over 31 years, until Barry Bonds broke it in August of 2007. After breaking the record, Bonds would go on to hit only six more home runs in his career, setting the new record at 762.
