Goldin Elite Auction Ending May 22-23
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 5/23/2021
This lot closes on May 23rd, 2021 at 10:00 PM EDT for initial bids.
There have been others who were thought to have been the man to break Babe Ruth's career home run mark of 714. Some said it would be Jimmie Foxx, others swore Mickey Mantle was the guy. Willie Mays gave it a good run, but it was Hank Aaron whose steady tally of season homers eventually eclipsed The Babe. Aged 39 in 1973, Hank hit 40 homers but ended the season one shy of tying Ruth. 1974 began with the eyes of every baseball fan on Hank Aaron. This would be the year the most hallowed record in sports would fall. He sent the first pitch he saw of the 1974 season into the stands for number 714 and then a few days later in Atlanta, he set the new career record by hitting 715 off Los Angeles Dodgers’ pitcher Al Downing. Every home run he hit from then on was the new record.
After the historic 1974 season in which the Hall of Famer Aaron passed Babe Ruth on the all-time home run list, “Hammerin” Hank returned to Milwaukee where his career began, to play for the Milwaukee Brewers of the American League. Aaron would add 12 more home runs to his career total in 1975, bringing his career total to 745. Aaron used this offered Hillerich & Bradsby A99 model bat during the 1975 season.
This bat displays light game use and is un-cracked. Aaron’s number “44” is handwritten on the knob and top barrel in black marker. There are a few ball marks, stitch impressions and contact marks from other bats. The bat’s model number “A99” is stamped on the knob. According to the game experts at PSA/DNA, this bat was originally obtained from Rick Napholz, who was the assistant equipment manager of the Milwaukee Brewers during Aaron’s two-year stint in 1975 and 1976 with the team. This bat comes with a LOA from PSA/DNA (1B05436) for the game use and has been graded a GU 7 and includes the reference in the LOA to this bat being obtained from Rick Napholz.