ABSTRACT
About 500 hate letters arrived at Aaron’s door in the aftermath of his feat. Far from being allowed to bask in triumphalism, crowds booed him and diminished his achievement in passing the Babe’s 714 mark by pointing out that Aaron had taken longer to match the number of home runs. In fact, Aaron went on for several more years, becoming the most productive home run hitter with a career total of 755. In many ways Aaron’s “sin” was as heinous as that of Jack JOHNSON, who in 1908 took the world heavyweight title from Tommy Burns. Both took possession of symbolic titles that whites had regarded as their own property.
