Part of a sports editor’s job is preparing for big events. You know when some are coming — Super Bowl, NCAA Tournament — but wait anxiously for others. One part of that preparation is seeing how the paper has covered a big event like this before.
So this morning I went back in our microfilm to April 9, 1974, the day after Hank Aaron broke the major-league home run record with his 715th. "Big" headlines 33 years ago are not nearly as big as we make them today, but the Sports page did a fine job of recording history.
Fine, except for the headline: "He’s King Henry on the 8th". I’m hoping it didn’t win awards.
We’re awaiting history again with Barry Bonds (who’s at 750), but we’ll have some hurdles to overcome to get you the story. Common sense would say that the San Francisco Giants will try to make sure Bonds hits the magical 756th at home, and since Giants weeknight home games begin at 9:05 p.m. our time, it could make for some nervous TV watching during (and past) our deadline to get the paper done.
So how about July 29 against Florida, Barry? Game starts at 2:05 p.m. Central time.
Kirk Seminoff
—–