Fifty years ago today, Mobile native Hank Aaron hit the 715th home run of his Major League career to replace Babe Ruth as baseball’s all-time leader.

Aaron connected off pitcher Al Downing of the Los Angeles Dodgers for the history-making homer at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium on April 8, 1974.

Aaron hit 40 more home runs before retiring, but 715, not 755, is the number that stuck to the outfielder in that same way that 714 clung to Ruth.

Here are 10 other numbers about Hank Aaron’s baseball career that are not 715:

SIX POSTSEASON HOME RUNS

Aaron played in three postseason series – the World Series in 1957 and 1958 and the National League Championship Series in 1969. He hit six home runs in 17 postseason games.

Aaron hit three home runs in the 1957 World Series, when the Milwaukee Braves defeated the New York Yankees in seven games. Aaron hit .393 and knocked in seven runs to pace the Milwaukee batters in the series.

The next year, Aaron did not homer in the Braves’ seven-game loss to the Yankees in the World Series. He did top the Milwaukee batters with a .333 average in the series.

In the first year of divisional playoffs in 1969, the Braves, as the Western Division champion, were swept in three games by the New York Mets, the Eastern Division champion, even though Aaron homered in each contest. Aaron drove in seven runs in the series, but the Miracle Mets scored 27 runs in the three games.

Aaron’s postseason batting average was .362, with a .710 slugging percentage, and he had 16 RBIs in his 17 games.

NINE FIRST-BALLOT HOLDOUTS

In Aaron’s first year of eligibility for the National Baseball Hall of Fame, he received 97.8 percent of the votes. Of the 415 BBWAA voters, nine did not include Aaron on their ballots in 1982.

Aaron’s percentage was the second-highest for a player in his first-year of eligibility at the time, behind the 98.2 percent collected by Ty Cobb in the first class of Hall of Famers in 1936 (when there were 226 voters).

Since Aaron’s election, voters seem to have become more open to first-ballot inductions, with Mariano Rivera being listed on the ballots of all 425 voters in 2019.

Other players who have surpassed Aaron’s Hall of Fame rate include Derek Jeter at 99.7 percent in 2020, Ken Griffey Jr. at 99.3 percent in 2016, Tom Seaver at 98.8 percent in 1992, Nolan Ryan at 98.8 percent in 1999, Cal Ripken Jr. at 98.5 percent in 2007 and George Brett at 98.2 percent in 1999.

11 MORE MILES ON THE BASES

Aaron is baseball’s all-time leader in total bases with 6,856 – 2,294 singles, 624 doubles, 98 triples and 755 home runs. Albert Pujols is second with 6,211 total bases. At 90 feet per base, that’s a difference of 58,050 feet – 10.99 more miles than any other player in baseball history that Aaron ran on the bases because of his hits.

Aaron did not surpass Babe Ruth for the total-bases record. Although Ruth still holds the single-season mark for total bases with 457 in 1921, he never caught Ty Cobb at the top of baseball’s all-time list.

Aaron broke the record of 6,134 total bases set by Stan Musial, who surpassed Cobb in 1962 by becoming the first player to reach 6,000. Aaron broke Musial’s record with a single off Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Steve Carlton on Sept. 3, 1972.

17 HOME RUNS VS. DON DRYSDALE

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Don Drysdale is in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. But Aaron touched the rugged right-hander for 17 home runs, more than he hit off any other pitcher. Aaron also went to the plate 51 more times against Drysdale than he did any other pitcher, facing the Los Angeles right-hander 249 times.

The pitcher who faced Aaron the most without giving up a home run was Jim Brosnan. The right-handed reliever completed his nine-season career in 1963 with a 55-47 record, a 3.54 earned-run average and 68 saves. He held Aaron to a .143 batting average in 52 plate appearances.

Aaron hit home runs in the big leagues off 310 pitchers.

25 ALL-STAR SELECTIONS

Aaron was picked for 25 All-Star teams, the most in baseball history – 24 times in the National League and once in the American League. Aaron started in 17 All-Star Games — 14 times in right field and once apiece at first base, center field and left field.

How was Aaron picked for 25 All-Star teams when he played 23 seasons? From 1959 through 1962, the Majors had two All-Star games each season, with the money from the second game going to the fledgling players’ pension fund.

Aaron appeared in more Major League Baseball All-Star games than any other player. But he batted only .194 in his 67 All-Star at-bats.

Aaron hit two home runs in the All-Star Game. On July 13, 1971, he homered off the Oakland Athletics’ Vida Blue at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. On July 25, 1972, Aaron homered off the Cleveland Indians’ Gaylord Perry at his home ballpark in Atlanta. Each pitcher went on to win 24 games in that season.

33 YEARS, 121 DAYS AS HOME RUN KING

Aaron held baseball’s career home run record from April 8, 1974, when he struck No. 715 to dethrone Babe Ruth, until Aug. 7, 2007, when Barry Bonds hit his 756th home run.

Ruth held the home run record for 52 years, 263 days, taking the top spot from Roger Connor on July 18, 1921, with his 139th homer.

Bonds has been the record-holder for 16 years, 245 days. Bonds completed his career with 762 home runs. The active player with the most career home runs is New York Yankees outfielder Giancarlo Stanton with 405.

863 HOME RUNS FOR AARON AND MATHEWS

Aaron and third baseman Eddie Mathews played together on the Braves from 1954 through 1966. Between them, they hit 863 home runs during that time, the most by two teammates in baseball history. Aaron hit 442 home runs and Mathews hit 421.

This is another record of Babe Ruth’s broken by Aaron. Ruth and New York Yankees teammate Lou Gehrig hit 771 home runs while playing together from 1923 through 1934. Ruth had 424 home runs and Gehrig 347 during that time.

Ruth and Gehrig also have been surpassed by the home run total of Willie Mays and Willie McCovey while with the San Francisco Giants from 1959 through 1971. Of the native Alabamians’ 800 home runs as San Francisco teammates, Mays hit 430 and McCovey hit 370.

2,174 GAMES IN RIGHT FIELD

Aaron appeared in seven fielding positions on MLB lineup cards during his career, but he can be classified as a right fielder. Aaron played right field in 2,174 MLB games.

Aaron also appeared in 315 games in left field, 308 in center field, 210 at first base, 201 at designated hitter, 43 at second base and seven at third base. Aaron never pitched or played shortstop or catcher.

Aaron is No. 3 on baseball’s career list for games played with 3,298. Pete Rose holds the record with 3,562, with Carl Yastrzemski second at 3,308.

Aaron ranks fourth for games as a right-fielder. Robert Clemente played 2,305 games in right field, Paul Waner played 2,250 and Harry Hooper played 2,182.

2,297 RUNS BATTED IN

Aaron remains baseball’s career leader for runs batted in with 2,297. He replaced Babe Ruth in the record book in this stat, too, and Aaron has held the record longer than the Bambino did.

Ruth overtook Cap Anson’s record of 2,075 RBIs in 1933 and finished with 2,214 in his career.

Aaron surpassed Ruth on May 1, 1975. In the third inning at County Stadium in Milwaukee, Aaron singled off Detroit Tigers pitcher Vern Ruhle with two out to score right fielder Sixto Lezcano as the Brewers took a 3-2 lead on their way to a 17-3 victory.

Aaron had a career batting average of .305 and a career slugging percentage of .555. With runners in scoring position during his career, Aaron batted .324 with a .572 slugging percentage.

Ruth is now third on the career RBIs list. Albert Pujols reached 2,218 runs batted in before retiring after the 2022 season.

8,124 DAYS FROM NO. 1 TO NO. 755

Aaron hit his first MLB home run on April 23, 1954, off Vic Raschi of the St. Louis Cardinals. He hit his final MLB home run on July 20, 1976, against Dick Drago of the California Angels.

The opposing team victimized the most by Aaron was the Cincinnati Reds. Aaron hit 97 home runs against the Reds. Aaron homered against 21 Major League teams. Even though Aaron played only two seasons in the American League in the days before interleague play, he homered against every MLB franchise that he faced except the Chicago White Sox.

Aaron had 59 at-bats against the White Sox without a home run. Of the other franchises in existence during his career, Aaron also never homered against the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves and Milwaukee Brewers. But he played for those teams, never against them.

When Aaron made his MLB debut in 1954, the National League had the Brooklyn Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Redlegs, New York Giants, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals as well as Aaron’s Milwaukee Braves, and the American League teams were the Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Athletics and Washington Senators.

By Aaron’s final season in 1976, the American League had added four teams, including the one he was playing on – the Milwaukee Brewers, who’d started as the Seattle Pilots. The American League also had added the California Angels, Kansas City Royals and Texas Rangers. The Rangers had started as the Washington Senators, who replaced the Washington club that moved to become the Minnesota Twins. The Athletics were in Oakland after a stop in Kansas City.

The National League had added the Houston Astros, Montreal Expos, New York Mets and San Diego Padres, and the Dodgers had moved to Los Angeles, the Giants had moved to San Francisco and the Braves have moved to Atlanta. Cincinnati’s team was back to being the plain Reds, too.

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.