Word: aarons
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...will be very different for Henry Aaron when he ties and then breaks Ruth's record. At a time when sporting events, from true combat like the World Series to make-believe contests like the Riggs-King tennis match, rivet the nation's attention, Aaron's conquest is being built into a spectacle nonpareil. The Atlanta Braves management is already in such a tizzy over preparations that when one official was informed that Jerry Ford might be available to throw out the first ball at the team's opening home game next Monday night, he responded...
...Braves' front office missed the news about a new Vice President, it is no surprise. Aside from preparing a special 32-page press book about Aaron, refurbishing the press box to handle an expected crowd of 300 reporters, building a tower in centerfield for photographers, manufacturing a "715" line of neckties, and ordering up a supply of commemorative beer steins decorated with a picture of Aaron that will sell for about $7.50 to fans who witness the historic home runs, the Braves administration spent the winter worrying about crowd control. More than 50,000 fans are expected...
Invisible Codes. Not all the extravaganza making is going on at the stadium. The Atlanta Chamber of Commerce has commissioned Sculptor Mike Matoba to produce a life-sized bronze bust of Aaron that will eventually be placed outside the Braves' offices at the stadium. A local advertising company has spent $20,000 to plaster the city with 200 full-color billboards depicting Aaron in full swing, with Babe Ruth's face hovering in the background. The mayor and Governor, of course, are planning to be on hand to honor Aaron, and even the Federal Communications Commission in Washington...
Bartholomay's plan quickly provoked charges that keeping Aaron on the bench was tantamount to "throwing" the games against the Reds. This time it was the critics who failed to note a telling point: last year the Braves won as frequently without Aaron as they did with him. Last week the moralists prevailed as Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn ordered the Braves to play Aaron in at least two of the Cincinnati games "for the good" of the sport...
...Aaron, who is more concerned about getting his 40-year-old muscles in shape than tangling with Kuhn, replied: "If the commissioner orders me to play, I guess I'll have to play." As for all the fuss about two home runs, Aaron admitted that "breaking the record is going to be an anticlimax. People have made too much of this. If I stay healthy this year, I hope I can hit 40 more...