Hank Aaron made history with his 715th home run, smashing Babe Ruth's longstanding record on April 8, 1974 at the old Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Of course, Aaron would go on to hit 755 homers in his career, like the home run-pro he is — and Atlanta would go on to tear down the stadium following the Olympics in 1996, like the demolition pros we are. The legacy of his success lived on, however, in a statue erected outside of Turner Field once the Braves had moved across the street. But the Braves' exodus to Cobb County created questions about whether or not Aaron would make the trek with the team to SunTrust Park. That is, until yesterday.
With the land slated for development by Georgia State University and Carter, a fight over the statue's fate has been brewing. While the city felt the statue belonged to them, and therefore would stay at its current location, the Braves felt they were entitled to truck Aaron's oversized likeness OTP.
It appeared the statue's fate was resolved when the Atlanta Fulton County Recreation Authority announced yesterday afternoon that they had located paperwork indicating they were the rightful owners of the sculpture. While initial reports in the AJC cheered that the statue would be staying put, the Braves were quick to cry foul. With murky origins of the statue, many — including the Braves organization — believe that Aaron himself should make the decision on where the statue should go.
You can bet this issue is far from resolved.
· Rec authority says Hank Aaron statue to stay, Braves say no deal yet [AJC]
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