Happy birthday!
Two of my childhood favorites are celebrating their birth today.
Hank Aaron was born in 1934, while Roger Staubach came into the world in 1942.
Neither one of these icons played for my favorite teams, but growing up in the 1970s, it was pretty hard to not be a fan of the two legends.
Aaron had several big moments in his career with the Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves against my Cincinnati Reds.
Staubach and the Dallas Cowboys helped me get through a decade of futility by my Green Bay Packers. As someone, who detests the Minnesota Vikings it was much appreciated.
Aaron and the Reds
Making his debut with the Milwaukee Braves in 1954 at Crosley Field on April 13, Aaron was hitless in five at bats with three coming against Joe Nuxhall in a 9-8 loss to the Reds. Two days later in Milwaukee, Aaron picked up two hits in a 7-6 victory over St. Louis and he was on his way to a Hall of Fame career.
Aaron had a liking for Cincinnati pitching as he hit 97 of his 755 career bombs against the Reds. Other than his 50 at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Crosley Field was second on his list of road ballparks with 43.
Herm Wehmeier was his first Cincinnati victim as the Braves beat the Reds 3-1 at Crosley Field on May 25, 1954. It was the fifth long ball he would hit.
Career homer number 100 came off Don Gross in Cincinnati as the Braves beat the Reds 8-1 during Aaron’s Most Valuable Player season on Aug. 15. 1957.
Fast forward to 1970 through many more homers, all-star appearances, gold gloves and leading the league in homers, RBI and batting average.
In the second game of a doubleheader on May 17, Aaron hit a single off Wayne Simpson at Crosley Field to become the ninth player in history to reach the 3,000-hit plateau.
Riverfront Stadium opened a few weeks after that historic moment for Aaron. He would hit 11 homers in that facility to giving him 54 in Cincinnati.
Aaron hit just two of his 20 homers in Cincinnati in 1974. The first one tied Babe Ruth as he homered in the season opener off Jack Billingham as the Reds managed to to 7-6 on April 4. Four days later, he would hit 715 off Al Downing in Atlanta as the Braves beat Los Angeles 7-4.
While in the National League, Aaron hit 733 homers. His last came in Atlanta against Cincinnati’s Rawly Eastwick as the Braves beat the Reds 13-0 in the season finale.
Aaron was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers after the season for Dave May as he finished his career with two years playing in the city where it all began.
Inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982, Aaron’s honors are really too numerous to list. However, my favorite number for Aaron is 3,016. That’s how many hits The Hammer had with out his 755 homers, which is truly amazing.
Hail Mary
While Aaron was near the end of his career during the 1970, Staubach played all but six of his National Football League games during the decade.
Born in Cincinnati, Staubach also led the Cowboys to five Super Bowls and a pair of victories. A six-time Pro Bowl player in his 11 years, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985. He was inducted in the College Football Hall of Fame in 1981.
The Cowboys played the Vikings four times in the post-season during the 1970s with a 3-1 record.
Minnesota was very good during that stretch as the Vikings won division titles and reached the Super Bowl four times and thankfully lost.
My favorite moment came on Dec. 28, 1975. Staubach completed what today is know as a Hail Mary pass for the winning score. It had been done before and certainly since, but to beat the Vikings 17-14, well, you get the idea how excited a 12-year old could be.
The Vikings had won the NFC Central with a 12-2 record and the Cowboys made it to the post-season as a Wild Card at 10-4.
The Cowboys had taken a 10-7 lead early in the fourth quarter of the playoff affair in Minnesota, before the Vikings answered with a touchdown to go on top 14-10 after an 11-play, 70-yard drive that took 6:06 to complete.
Dallas needed a touchdown to win, but on their next possession they were forced to punt. The Cowboys were able to stop the Vikings and get another chance.
After the Vikings punted, the Cowboys were at their own 14-yard line with 1:51 remaining.
Much like the controversial ending this year between the Los Angeles Rams and New Orleans Saints, the game would have two plays that made the Vikings angry.
On a fourth down play, Staubach hit Drew Pearson with a pass at the 50. Pearson was ruled in-bounds after a hit by Minnesota’s Nate Wright. The rules different back then and it was determined that he would have been in had he not be hit.
Two plays later, Staubach connected with Pearson on the Hail Mary for the winning score where there was “contact” between him and Wright.
Minnesota had 18 seconds left, but couldn’t get close for a field goal try. In the final moments an official was knocked out by an bottle thrown from the stands.
The Cowboys would go on to reach the Super Bowl, but they would fall to the Pittsburgh Steelers 21-17.
Staubach had already established quiet a legacy prior to the Hail Mary pass. He won the Heisman Trophy in 1963, while playing for the United States Naval Academy. The Cowboys won their first Super Bowl with a 24-3 victory over the Miami Dolphins in January of 1972.
Like Aaron, there are so many accomplishments that Staubach had it is hard to list all of them.
Two Connections
Although Aaron and Staubach became legends in two different sports, the duo has been honored twice with the same award.
Aaron received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2002, while Staubach was honored in 2018.
Both also were given the Lombardi Award of Excellence by the Vince Lombardi Cancer Foundation as Aaron was honored in 2002 and Staubach in 2009.