Atlanta, Georgia: Hank Aaron's Home Run Wall

It's one of the most famous moments in baseball history, dating back to April 8, 1974. Al Downing of the Dodgers was pitching, and he threw a ball to Braves' batter Henry Aaron ... who smacked it over the left-field fence. Left fielder Bill Buckner jumped but couldn't come up with the ball, which landed in the glove of relief pitcher Tom House in the Braves' bullpen.

Just like that, baseball's most significant record has been broken. It was career home run number 715 for Aaron, one more than the legendary Babe Ruth. And the sellout crowd in Atlanta Fulton County Stadium roared. 

The Braves don't play there any more; they are now in the northern suburbs of Atlanta. The team's original home was torn down in 1995 and the ground is now used as a parking lot for Georgia State University. But someone decided to save part of the wall out in left field, and turn it into a tribute to Aaron. What a nice idea. (By the way, stadium number 2 is now used by the Georgia State baseball team nearby.)

Finding this site can be a little tricky, but we're here to help. We started at the Georgia State Capitol building. The idea is to walk south on Capitol Ave. SW over the highway cloverleaf. Then take a right on to Pollard Blvd. SW. The road bends to the left about 90 degrees. The first parking lot is elevated a bit, but from there you'll see a wall bordering another lot. There are stairs down to the second lot, and soon you'll see the wall that spells out Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. The Aaron tribute isn't too far from the stairs. Someone probably needs to make it a little more permanent and impressive; right now it's sort of like the homemade tribute at the Buddy Holly crash site in Clear Lake, Iowa. But it does have a little charm.

It's impossible to get tired of watching the home run, so here it is: