Wilcox County's Hank Aaron still holds the MLB record for most career extra-base hits 50 years later

Baseball Hall of Famer Hank Aaron

Today – Aug. 18 – marks 50 years since Wilcox County native Hank Aaron broke Stan Musial’s longstanding extra-base hits record with his 1,378^th extra-base hit in a game against the Montreal Expos.

Aaron held the MLB home run record for many years, but few know that he still holds the extra-base hits record, which takes into account not only home runs, but also triples and doubles.

It was on Aug. 18, 1973 that Aaron, who was born in Wilcox County and grew up in Mobile, started in left field for the Atlanta Braves and entered the game with 1,377 career extra-base hits, tied with Hall of Famer Stan Musial for the all-time record. That game was played at night in Jarry Park in Montreal, Quebec and there was a crowd of 25,093 people on hand to see the game. Because the 39-year-old Aaron was on the verge of passing Musial, this Saturday night game had garnered a lot of attention.

Right-hander Steve Rogers, a five-time All-Star, got the pitching start for the Expos and intentionally walked Aaron, who was hitting in the clean-up spot, in his first plate appearance of the game, which came in the top of the first inning. The next Atlanta batter Dusty Baker, who currently serves as the manager for the Houston Astros, flew out to second base and then Davey Johnson struck out, stranding Aaron at first.

With Atlanta leading, 2-0, Rogers was still in the game in the top of the third when Aaron came to the plate again. There was no intentional walk on the agenda this time, and Aaron made contact with just one out in the inning. Unfortunately, Aaron hit a grounder to Expos third baseman Bob Bailey, who threw Aaron out at first for out No. 2.

Aaron made another plate appearance in the top of the sixth, facing Rogers for the third time that night. With one out and Atlanta still leading, 2-0, Aaron hit another grounder. This time, Expos shortstop Tim Foli scooped up the ball and threw Aaron out at first for the second out of the inning.

Rogers was still in the game when Aaron came to the plate for the final time that night. With two outs in the top of the eighth, Aaron hit a towering home run that gave the Braves their third run of the game. Home runs were commonplace for Hammerin’ Hank, but this one was special because it marked his 1,378^th Major League extra-base hit, giving him one more than Musial in the record books.

Aaron went on to play through the 1976 season and would hit 99 more extra base hits, giving him a total of 1,477 over the course of his career. If you check the record books today, he remains No. 1 on the list, 37 ahead of Barry Bonds. Aaron’s record is probably safe for the time being. The closest active player on the list is Miguel Cabrera, who currently plays for the Detroit Tigers. As of Friday afternoon, Cabrera had 1,145 extra base hits to his credit.

In the end, it would be interesting to know if anyone from Wilcox County happened to be in Montreal to see Aaron break Musial’s record. It would be interesting to hear about your experience that night or to learn if you have any memorabilia from that game (ticket stubs, game programs, etc.). Also, if you have any additional information about Aaron’s roots in Wilcox County, please let me know because it would be nice to fully document his ties to the Wilcox County area.