Outta' the ballpark!

This Day in History: April 23, 1954 

Life, hot dogs and baseball
Hot apple pie topped with ice cream
Ah-h-h-h! Those American classics
Sad day had their visions not been seen! 

We love "Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet!" They go together like peanut butter and jelly, salt and pepper, peas and carrots, cookies and milk, sugar and spice. They are icons of America and always put a smile on your face, especially when listening or watching the most memorable car commercial ever made. The famed commercial, "Love Affair," had the nation singing in 1974, changing car commercials and automotive branding forever. America's love affair in '74 definitely targeted baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and the Chevrolet. They epitomized America.

It's not the Chevy, however, that made history on this day, but baseball. So, let's shift gears and head on down to the ball park. But, first, don't forget to have a slice of Mom's homemade apple pie fresh-baked, from scratch and still hot right out of the oven. Not that we need anything to get our adrenalin pumping but what can I say? Mom made it!

Anyway, back on the road...

Excitement fills the air with thoughts buzzing of sitting in the stands, cheering, yelling at the umpire when he leans across home plate as the nation gasps waiting for the call. Then, of course, there is also the chance of bases loaded, bottom of the ninth, full count, here comes the pitch…

Food is always front and center and nothing better than a ballpark hotdog (not the brand name but baseball stadium hot dogs) topped with extra mustard and relish. You could smell them all the way from the car to the stadium seats. I can hear the vendor now, "Get 'em while they're hot! Hot dogs! Hot dogs! Get 'em while they're hot!" 

This day, April 23, 1954, turned out to be a special day. A day that initiated a home run record that would go on to beat that of Babe Ruth! This occurred when Hank Aaron of the Milwaukee Braves hits his first major league home run in a game against the St. Louis Cardinals. This was the first of 755 home runs. The Braves won, 7-5. The most memorable of his home runs came on April 8, 1974, when Hank Aaron hit No. 715, the one that surpassed the legendary Babe Ruth. During the winter of 1973, Aaron endured hate mail and death threats from people who did not want to see him break Ruth's home run record. Aaron's record stood until 2007, when it was broken by Barry Bonds, who was later implicated in a steroids scandal.

"My motto was to always keep swinging.  Whether I was in a slump or feeling badly or having trouble off the field, the only thing to do was keep swinging." -HANK AARON

Who, What, I Don't Know  

Let's just play baseball!