Tom House and Hank Aaron Did the Impossible

Worlds collide beyond the outfield wall

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1974 Topps Tom House (#164) - Card of the Day

Tom House was half the subject of one of the most confusing baseball stories I ever read.

It was in our 3rd- or 4th-grade reading book, the ones that conglomerate all sorts of stories and then ruin each one of them by asking you “comprehension” questions at the end.

Nothing like introducing a little “will there be a quiz?” angst early on to make sure kids don’t like to read. But I digress (and this won’t be on the quiz, btw).

Anyway, this story lightly told the tale of Hank Aaron’s record-breaking 715th home run, but with a large dose of House perspective. The reason?

Well, according to the story, and with no other context than he was also a ballplayer, House caught Aaron’s blast.

On the fly.

In his glove.

While in uniform.

Now, I was no baseball fan back then. Hated the stuff, actually. But this scenario sent my head spinning.

I mean, if another player — who’s not the batter — catches a ball in the air, that’s an out, right? Not a home run?

I wasn’t at all sure about my position, but I couldn’t let it ride. So I asked the teacher. She frowned for a second or two, then asked the jocks in the room. They shrugged.

Then the teacher waved it away saying something like, well, it’s printed, so who are YOU to argue. Probably not those exact words, but close.

So I shut up, but I figured if the day ever came when I cared about baseball, I’d have to find the truth.

That day did come, as it turned out.

As it also turned out, House was in the Braves bullpen when Hammer came to bat in the fourth inning on April 8, 1974, and the lefthander’s eyes were fixed on Aaron’s, just like millions of other eyes around the world.

So when Al Downing delivered an inside fastball that wasn’t inside enough, and when Hammer pounced, House was ready. The ball sailed over the fence, into the bullpen, into House’s glove.

So, indeed, Hank Aaron’s record home run was caught on the fly by an active player in uniform — but it wasn’t an out.

The story in my old reading book had been right, even if it left out a *bit* of context.

Of course, my whole introduction to Aaron’s record and Tom House forever painted my mental image of the left-hander. I can’t think of anything else when I see a picture of House or hear his name.

But House’s story is a lot deeper than the terminal end of a trivia question, starting with an eight-year big league career following five years in the minors.

When Aaron hit #715, collectors were already pulling the House card above, and the lefty was entering his fourth season with the Braves. It would turn out to be a pretty heady summer for the 27-year-old, who went 6-2 with a 1.93 ERA and 11 saves.

That would be House’s peak, though he put together a very solid 1975 for the Braves before scratching for innings between the Red Sox and Mariners from 1976 through 1978. He did make a two-appearance minor-league comeback with the Padres in 1983, but was otherwise done as a pitcher.

House went on to become a pitching coach for several American and Japanese organizations — pro and college. As part of that work, he became a renowned expert on pitching mechanics, which he eventually transferred to NFL arms.

Over the years, he has worked with many of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history, including Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Matt Ryan, and many others.

House came a long way from being the Cubs 11th-round pick in the 1965 Draft — the first one ever, where Rick Monday was the first-ever pick — to training Super Bowl champs.

In between, House witnessed history, engendered at least one confusing story, and touched thousands of sporting lives.

That he’s done it in a mere 77 years — as of his birthday, today — makes House’s life sound like an almost impossible whirlwind.

More Active Historical Participant

An aspect of Aaron’s record-breaking shot that’s not exactly ignored but not exactly celebrated either is that it had real, in-the-moment game consequences.

The Braves entered the fourth inning down to the Dodgers by a score of 3-1. Darrell Evans reached base on an error by shortstop Bill Russell to start the inning. That gaffe, by the way, was one of two Russell would commit that day and one of a whopping six Los Angeles errors.

Anyway, that brought up Hammerin’ Hank, who not only made history but tied the game with his jack. Eventually, the Braves pulled out a 7-4 victory.

As for Evans, he was coming off a 41-homer season of his own and would crack 25 in 1974 despite walking 126 times — pitchers didn’t want any part of his wheelhouse for the most part.

Howdy Doody also featured on a pretty nifty 1974 Topps card of his own. I wrote about the slugger and the card a while back right here if you want more of the story.

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Happy last Monday of April! Here’s hoping any showers you endured (or enjoyed, in the case of Tim Raines or Chuck Rainey baseball cards) will bring you a fresh bouquet of Ben Flowers cards in May.

See you tomorrow, and thanks for reading.

—Adam