BE BRAVE, HENRY
Nota bene: As of June 16, the five RRP puzzles have been considerably (and I hope considerately) revised, which is to say, simplified, in hopes of making them more easily solved and thus more likely to be found on July 12, 2025, the day of our MGS Summer Picnic (GCB38AP). RRP 1 has a revised hint and clues within its description. RRP 2 and 3 now include [ANSWERS] after many crossword clues (mostly the ones for which visiting the Internet would be necessary for most cachers). RRP 4 has much of its grid already filled in, the location of its required quotation highlighted in green and orange, and its hints made more obvious. And RRP 5's grid has most of its grid's unnumbered cells filled in. Difficulty ratings for the puzzles will not be changed, however, in deference to previous solvers' possible reliance on those ratings for challenge caches.
An Atlanta Brave places his left hand onto his bat, dips his right deep into the pine tar rag. As he steps toward the batter’s box, he grins ever so slightly at the thought that what is unfolding could find its way into many a baseball fan’s family album. Already embedding itself within his mind, interfering enormously with his normal routine of focusing on the work and art of hitting, is an image of what he will do if he succeeds in this at bat. It is April 8th, 1974, the fourth inning of the game against the Dodgers. Al Downing is on the mound. All 53,775 fans appreciate the moment. The batter has 714 home runs in his career. Hank Aaron has already tied Babe Ruth’s record of 714 career home runs. If he hits one more, Ruth’s reign of 53 years as Major League Baseball’s home-run king will be over. Millions of baseball fans across the nation are also watching, listening, escaping from their evening habits in hopes of witnessing history.
But not every American had been rooting for Henry, who must have also been somewhat distracted by hate mail and death threats: “Will I sneak a rifle into the upper deck or a .45 in the bleachers? I don’t know yet. But you know you will die unless you retire!” was one such threat. Did Hammerin’ Hank wonder if a murderer had been disarmed as he entered Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium that night? In spite of his fears, was he able to concentrate on the rate of Downing’s fastball, the arc of his best curveball, as he strode to the plate, or would such distractions vanish only when he stepped into the batter’s box?
He had tied Ruth’s record on his first swing on Opening Day in Cincinnati, once a key stop on the Underground Railroad and the burial site of Frances Wright, a woman far ahead of her time, one who could combine soaring rhetoric and the highest principles of our Founders. Pearl Bailey had sung our national anthem that day, and Hank’s father, undoubtedly excited and proud, had thrown out the first pitch. But now, in his own park, on the verge of making history for himself and his race, was he supposed to feel that to break Ruth’s record was to pirate a revered white man’s treasure? Possibly Hank had had enough of the tension leading up to this moment. After all, manager Eddie Matthews had closed the clubhouse to the press early on April 8th, figuring Henry had answered enough questions already. And Hank had said to fellow outfielder Ralph Garr, “I’m gonna break it tonight. I’m tired. I’m going to break the record so we can get down to serious business.” Garr had replied, “I think you are, Hank.” But did Garr wonder silently, “What if he doesn’t break it tonight? What if he flops tonight and every night until he can’t take the pressure and the animosity anymore? I mean, he’s 38 after all.”
We don’t know exactly what Hank thought as he took a first pitch in the fourth inning against Downing, or what he was thinking as he drove the 1-0 pitch over the 385-foot marker in left-center. Downing would later be reminded of Curt Simmons’ quip: “Trying to throw a fastball by Henry Aaron is like trying to sneak a sunrise past a rooster!” We do know that in ’73 Henry had said to the NY Daily News, “If I were a white man, all America would be proud of me. But I’m black. You have to be black in America to know how sick some people are. I’ve always thought racism a problem, even with as much progress as America has made.”
Henry hit 40 homers in ’73. He finished his career with 755. Perhaps Vin Scully best described Aaron’s achievement that momentous April 8th night in 1974:
“A Black man is getting a standing ovation in the Deep South for breaking a record of an all-time baseball idol. What a marvelous moment for baseball. What a marvelous moment for Atlanta and the state of Georgia. What a marvelous moment for the country and the world. And it is a great moment for all of us, particularly Henry Aaron, who was met at home plate by not only every member of the Braves, but by his father and mother.”
No average ballplayer, that Henry Aaron. One for the ages.
MANY THANKS TO JAF430 FOR EDITING AND BETA-TESTING THIS PUZZLE!
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