How it unfolded
Aaron finished 1973 with 713 home runs and spent the winter under racist mail and death threats — more than 900,000 pieces of mail, with security attached. On Opening Day in Cincinnati he tied Ruth at 714 off Jack Billingham; the stage moved to the home opener. In the fourth before 53,775, Al Downing left a low fastball 1–0 and Aaron drove it over the left-centre fence. The ball landed in the glove of Braves reliever Tom House in the bullpen; House ran it to home plate. Two students ran onto the field beside Aaron as he rounded the bases; his mother hugged him at home. Atlanta won 7–4. Aaron then returned to quiet routine and finished at 755 in 1976.
Why it still matters
Baseball's most sacred number broken by a Black player — and proof of where America still stood twenty-seven years after integration. No. 715 stood for thirty-three years. Aaron's 2,297 RBI and 6,856 total bases remain all-time records, so his career cannot be reduced to one home-run chase.