Hank Aaron greets the home crowd in his return to Milwaukee, April 11, 1975.
1974 was a rough year for Hank Aaron. He opened the season needing just two home runs to break Babe Ruth’s all-time record – at that time, the most sacred record in all of organized sports. The stress of media attention had worked him thin through the winter, and the onslaught only got worse as the season opened. Breaking the record on April 8th in Atlanta was more of a relief for Aaron than anything else, but the rest of the season offered him little in the way of joy from the game he loved. With the team struggling, Braves manager and long-time Aaron friend Eddie Mathews was fired in the middle of the season. The move started up speculation that Aaron might be offered the job. Aaron himself had no desire to manage, but had been vocal in his displeasure that no African American had yet managed in the majors and found himself obligated to become the first if he were given the chance. Over the All-Star break, he admitted in an interview that he felt as though he deserved to be offered the job, but said as long as the Braves thought he might say yes, he would never get the offer. Aaron instead lobbied for his brother, Tommie Aaron, who was managing in the Braves minor league system. The Braves refused to consider Tommie, saying that they did not want to distract from the minor league pennant race. In the end, the job went to Clyde King, a white man.
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The kerfuffle over the manager’s job turned out to be another chance for the Atlanta fans and media to chide Aaron. The hate mail that dogged his chase of Ruth picked back up. A local reporter published a column accusing Aaron’s wife, Billye, of “putting ideas” into his head and stoking his new boldness on racial issues (Aaron responded by mashing a pint of strawberries into his face the next time he saw in the Braves locker room). Aaron grew afraid of groups when he went out in Atlanta. He developed a habit of scanning every face in a room, trying to figure out what the person wanted from him. Professional autograph seekers bothered him so badly he took to wearing a fake sling on his right arm to ward them off. Before the season had even ended, he had decided that it would be his last in Atlanta.
An article accusing his wife, Billye (seen here at Fulton County Stadium), of “putting ideas into his head,” so enraged Aaron that he shoved a pint of strawberries into the face of the piece’s author.
The general thinking around baseball was that Aaron was retire after the 1974 season. Teams hosting the Braves held “farewell” nights and presented him with gifts and trophies. Braves officials began to talk about front office positions and corporate partnerships. But Aaron knew that wasn’t anything he could do off the field that would approach his salary as a player. And he also felt like he still had something left in his bat. Despite the distractions and stresses of the season, he managed to slug .491 and hit 20 homers in just 112 games. Advance statistics rate his batting performance as worst since his rookie year, but still well above the league average. The Braves scheduled a press conference following the final game of the season, at which Aaron was widely expected to announce his retirement. Instead, he merely said that he had played his last game as an Atlanta Brave. Asked later to expand on his comments, he said that he was 50-50 if he would return to the field for 1975, but if he did return, “I don’t want to go to any other place but Milwaukee.”
Milwaukee was where Aaron had broken into the Big Leagues with the Braves in 1954. It was where he’d won two home run titles, two batting crowns, an MVP award and a World Series. It was the place he’d hated to leave in 1965 when the Braves left the city for Atlanta. It was a city where Aaron had felt comfortable, something he never had in Atlanta. And now it was home to the Milwaukee Brewers, a franchise owned by Bud Selig – who used to go with Aaron to Packers games in Milwaukee – and managed by Aaron’s old teammate Del Crandall. The Brewers were still finding their footing as a franchise, struggling on the field and at the gate. Selig had actually tried to buy Aaron from the Braves in 1972 – a deal that ultimately fell apart.
Aaron takes a swing at County Stadium after his trade to the Brewers.
Even though Aaron was positively done in Atlanta and no longer under contract to the team, he did not yet have the right to take his services wherever he please. Major League players had not yet gained the freedom of free agency. As the offseason began, he was still the property of the Atlanta club. Even though he had made clear his preference to play for the Brewers, the entry of the all-time home run king onto the trade market generate a lot of interest. Both the White Sox and Cubs inquired about trading for the slugger. Rumors abound about the Padres, Mets, or Yankees getting in on talks. But Aaron insisted that he would not hesitate to retire if he ended up with a club that he did not want to play for.
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By the middle of October, the Braves had granted Aaron permission to negotiate a new contract with the Brewers and Aaron and Selig worked out a tentative deal that would pay $240,000 per year for two years – making him the highest paid player in baseball. But Aaron was still a member of the Braves and the team had no interest in simply letting him jump to the Brewers without compensation. For weeks, Selig and Braves officials went back and forth, discussing nearly every player on the Milwaukee roster. Selig was willing to move young outfielder Sixto Lezcano or catcher Charlie Moore, but the Braves coveted outfielder Davey May, who had been an All Star and had finished 8th in the AL MVP voting in 1973. Selig was hesitant to move May, but simply could not scuttle a chance to bring Hammerin’ Henry back to County Stadium. On November 2, as Aaron was in Japan to compete in a home run contest with Japanese homer king Sadaharu Oh, the Brewers officially completed the deal, sending May and player to be named (pitcher Roger Alexander) to Atlanta. Selig called Aaron at 3 am Japanese time to tell him of the trade. Aaron was not the least bit cranky about being woken up.
The Brewers sent all-star outfielder Dave May to the Braves in exchange for Aaron.
One of the major components to the trade was Aaron’s life after baseball. During the 1974 season, Aaron had grown to view the Braves’ talk of a post-career job in the front office as bluster meant only for good public relations. “I didn’t want to be a houseboy for the Braves,” he said after the season. But as his move to Milwaukee was finalized, there was already talk of him becoming the Brewers’ general manager after retirement, which would have been the highest-ranking post any African American had ever made in the sport. Selig had also talked about setting Aaron up in a Schlitz beer distributorship after his playing days. But for the time being, Aaron was just happy to be out of Atlanta. “There had been some unforgettable moments for me in Atlanta,” Aaron wrote in his autobiography, “but those moments were the exception more than the rule. There was no real warmth between the city and me… I still loved Milwaukee, and unlike Atlanta, Milwaukee still loved me.”
Aaron at Spring Training, 1975. He remarked that his new Brewers uniform, “fits a little better” than the one he’d worn in Atlanta.
On November 14, 1974, Hank Aaron arrived in Milwaukee to be introduced as a Milwaukee Brewer. A ceremony was held in the Imperial Room of the Pfister Hotel. “This was a city that showed me respect when I was growing up as a young kid and I wanted to end my career here,” Aaron told the assembled media. Both Aaron and the Brewers acknowledged the historic significance of the trade, but also insisted it was a solid baseball move. “My main goal is to bring a championship back to the city I love so dearly,” Aaron said. The Brewers marveled at the chance to insert Aaron into the designated hitter role that had produced so little for the team in 1974. His bat would help to protect sluggers George Scott and Johnny Briggs and his experience would help talented young players like Darrell Porter, Lezcano, and 19-year-old shortstop Robin Yount. The Brewers had finished just ten games under .500 in 1974. With Aaron in the fold, people began to talk of the first winning season in team history.
An ad for Billye Aaron’s talk show, from the Milwaukee Sentinel, April 12, 1975.
When the 1975 season opened, there was an energy at County Stadium that hadn’t been witnessed since the days of the Braves. “It fits a little better than the Braves uniform,” Aaron said of his new blue and gold Brewers jersey. His trademark #44 had surrendered to him by third-year outfielder Gorman Thomas, who was happy to give it up – he’d picked it in the first place because Aaron was his hero. As the Brewers prepared to take on the Cleveland Indians for the April 11 home opener, Aaron was as relaxed and happy as he’d been on a baseball field in a long time. Billye had just debuted a weekly talk show, called “Billye,” on WTMJ Channel 4 (he was her first guest). Across the diamond, Frank Robinson was breaking the managerial color line, having been hired by the Indians as player-manager the previous winter. And, despite high temperatures in the 30s, more than 48,000 people had jammed County Stadium to welcome him home to Milwaukee. As Aaron stepped onto the field, the crowd roared before breaking into song. A rendition of “Hello, Dolly!” had been written just for the occasion, “you’re looking swell, Henry,” the crowd sang, “We can tell, Henry, you’re still swinging, you’re still slammin’, you’re still going strong.”
Aaron leads off first base.
The roar was equaled when Aaron stepped to bat in the first inning and surpassed just moments later when he rifled a fastball deep – but foul – into the left field seats. A few pitches later, Aaron drilled a base hit past a diving Buddy Bell. After the game – a 6-2 Brewers win – reporters crowded around Aaron’s locker. “We won, that’s the important thing,” he responded to their questions in a soft voice. Asked if he’d be glad when the hype of his return to Milwaukee was over, he replied, “Really, I hope it’s over now.”
