Henry Aaron, the longtime home-run king, actually hit 756 homers in his esteemed career. But he had one taken away from him as a Milwaukee Braves slugger, by home-plate umpire Chris Pelekoudas on Aug. 18, 1965 at Busch Stadium I — the former Sportsman’s Park.
Cardinals Hall of Famer Tim McCarver remembers it well. He was catching that night.
It happened in the eighth inning of a 3-3 game. Aaron, the National Baseball Hall of Famer who died at 86 on Friday, was hitting with two out against lefthander Curt Simmons, who featured a slower-than-slow changeup that Aaron couldn’t wait for sometimes.