#Shortstops: The 755th Home Run

On an ordinary day, July 20, 1976, in the midst of a long season for the Milwaukee Brewers, Henry “Hank” Aaron stepped to the plate at Milwaukee County Stadium. The sparse crowd of barely 10,000 fans was about to witness history.

Aaron faced Dick Drago of the California Angels, whose most notable achievement so far in his eight-year big league career was throwing the first complete game in Kansas City Royals history. On this balmy day in July, Drago would throw a pitch that would set off an unlikely domino effect with many twists and turns.

With the catcher set up outside, Drago wound and fired a slider. Rather than biting, the ball hung belt-high, and with a flick of his still-powerful wrists, Aaron sent the ball soaring into the left field bleachers. This marked his 10th home run of the season and the 755th long ball of Aaron’s illustrious career. While impressive in the moment, the true significance of number 755 would not become apparent until much later when Aaron’s season was cut short due to a knee injury.

Resting in the left field stands sat Richard Arndt, a member of the Brewers groundskeeping crew who was a devoted fan of Hank Aaron. When Aaron hit his 755th home run, Arndt, who had joined the crew early that year hoping to meet his idol, managed to retrieve the ball. Ecstatic, he tucked the ball into his pocket. After the final out, Arndt raced to the clubhouse to give the home run ball to Aaron. However, Arndt was turned away by the Brewers’ equipment manager.

When Arndt refused to part with the ball because he wanted to be the one to hand it to Aaron, he was fired and, to make matters worse, five dollars was docked from his paycheck to account for the cost of the baseball. Frustrated by the situation and disappointed that he could not give the ball to his hero in person, Arndt held onto the historic ball. He placed it in a safety deposit box where the ball remained for more than two decades.

Over the years, Arndt received both monetary offers and memorabilia trade opportunities from numerous collectors, however, he was not ready to part with the ball. That is until 1999, the season after Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa’s home run chase. Aaron himself contacted Arndt and agreed to purchase the ball for $655,000 and additional items that were not disclosed to the public.

Everyone remembers Aaron’s 715th home run, which broke Babe Ruth’s record, but each subsequent home run set a new record, which eventually settled at 755 on that unassuming day in the middle of July 1976. In the annals of baseball, 755 is more than a number; it is a symbol of a barrier shattered, a record set, and a story that continues to inspire long after the last cheers of that summer day faded to silence. From Drago’s hand, to Arndt’s safety deposit box, and eventually into Hank Aaron’s personal collection, the home run ball has finally come to rest at the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The ball is currently on display on the third floor as a part of the Museum’s Chasing the Dream exhibit, where it continues to thrill fans and historians alike.

Maple Moody was a 2024 membership/development intern in the Frank and Peggy Steele Internship Program for Leadership Development