Hank Aaron hit his 715th home run 50 years ago. Athens author's new book relives the night
On April 8, 1974, Randy Louis Cox was a 24-year-old sports editor for the The Valley Times-News in Lanett, Alabama who received press credentials for the Atlanta Braves’ home opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Stationed in the photography well on the first base side of Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, Cox was witness to baseball history as the legendary Henry Aaron slammed his 715th career home run, surpassing Babe Ruth for a record many thought would never be broken.
In recognition of the golden anniversary of Aaron’s historic homer, Cox, 74, has written “715 at 50: The Night Henry Aaron Changed Baseball and the World Forever,” published by New Jersey-based, baseball-centric Summer Game Books. The book, which will be available on Amazon and other platforms, will be official released on March 4.
Cox, who splits time between homes in Athens and Gwinnett County, said during a recent interview that he felt doubly fortunate to be on hand for Aaron’s monumental achievement. Not only did Cox get credentialed for the game, but he had no plans for further coverage of Aaron’s pursuit of Ruth’s record.
“I got press credentials for my cousin and me, and we just lucked out by being there for the home run,” he said. “I probably wouldn’t have gone back the next night. I sure was lucky he came through and hit the homer the night I was there.”
The book, which Cox said took some 18 months to pull together, features about 70 photographs, 44 of which were from the night Aaron (who died in 2021 at the age of 86) became baseball’s home run king. He added that finding the long-forgotten negatives sparked his plan to write the story.
“I had these negatives from that night and they’d been sitting in a sleeve for 48 years,” said Cox. “I’d never had them printed up. I decided to put them in a Google Book for my grandchildren. When I got the scans, most of them were really clear and the negatives were in good condition.
“I started writing things that I could remember from the photos and eventually I got in touch with Walt Friedman at Summer Game Books. He was a big Braves and Aaron fan and said, ‘let’s go for it.’”
The Decatur native conducted extensive research of coverage of that chilly night in April and augmented his research with interviews from a trio of frontline witnesses – Braves public relations director Bob Hope and pitchers Ron Reed and Buzz Capra. Reed earned the pitching victory against the Dodgers that night while Capra got the save.
“I’m excited about having interviews with those three gentlemen,” said Cox. “It made the book to me, and I think readers will be very interested in some of the inside stories from that night.”
One of the more interesting — if not widely-shared — stories from the night involved an underdressed fan in the outfield bleachers.
“There was a streaker in the left field seats that night and Bob Hope said that was probably the least-watched streaker in the history of streaking,” said Cox. “The ushers called Bob and asked what to do and he said, ‘Don’t do anything — nobody even saw her.’”
A Georgia State graduate, Cox was a baseball fan from way back, taking in games featuring the Atlanta Crackers at venerable Ponce de Leon Park in the years before the Braves arrived from Milwaukee. He recalls being assigned by the Georgia State Signal newspaper to cover a Braves game that happened to be the night Aaron hit his 600th home run.
Although his encounters with Aaron were few and short, Cox said he was amazed at how collected the future Hall of Famer was considering the stress — both internal and external — he faced on a daily basis.
“He was such a gentleman; he was always a nice guy,” said Cox of Aaron. “He took the whole thing in stride and was so happy when it was over. It was a long haul for him. He went through a lot, which I detail in the book. It was a great thing for the Braves and a great thing for Atlanta. I think it really changed baseball.”
After leaving the Lanett Valley News-Sun, Cox worked in newspapers and radio in Alabama before returning to metro Atlanta to work at the Clayton Sun. He then spent more than 30 years with the Georgia Department of Agriculture’s august Market Bulletin before retiring in 2013. He’s written three other books – focusing on collectibles – and said he was considering featuring character actors in classic TV shows and movies as the subject for his next book.
“Everybody was so excited about that and I’m excited we’re able to put this together at the time of the 50th anniversary,” he said. “A lot of people have good memories of that night and everybody was so excited. I hope we’re able to convey some of that excitement in this book.”
For more information on “715 at 50,” visit www.SummerGameBooks.com.
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: New book details night Hank Aaron passed Babe Ruth's home run record
