The inside story of Hank Aaron's chase for the home run record, repackaged and with a foreword by Bob Costas and new material from the Plimpton Archives.
In One For the Record, George Plimpton recounts Hank Aaron's thrilling race to become the new home run champion. Amidst media frenzy and death threats, Aaron sought to beat Babe Ruth's record. In 1974, he finally succeeded.
A fascinating examination of the psychology of baseball players, One For the Record gives an absorbing account of the men on the mound who had to face Aaron. But the book's true genius lies in the portrait of Aaron himself, and his discussions on his philosophy on hitting and the game of baseball.
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“Rick Adamson narrates this collection of essays from renowned sports enthusiast and author George Plimpton—some published here for the first time. Every American sports fan of a certain age knows of Al Downing, the Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher who gave up the tie-breaking 715th home run to Hank Aaron on April 8, 1974, to surpass Babe Ruth’s all-time home-run record. However, we don’t know what Downing—and, for that matter, all of Major League baseball, the pitchers, the batters, the managers—were thinking. As the subtitle says, here is the inside story. Adams narrates with a broadcaster’s sense of drama and a good feel for a special moment in American cultural history. It’s a very American story, read by a very American voice.”
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