Watch: 43 years ago, Hank Aaron hits 700th career HR

Exactly 43 years ago, Henry Louis Aaron made baseball history.

In the third inning of an otherwise meaningless Atlanta Braves home contest against the Philadelphia Phillies on July 21, 1973, Aaron strode to the plate with a runner on second for his 12,535th career plate appearance. Earlier in the game, he'd singled off pitcher Ken Brett, but that wasn't what the 16,236 fans at Atlanta Stadium came hoping to witness.

The man known as "Hammerin' Hank" waited patiently until Brett gave him that perfect pitch, low and inside, then golfed it well over the left-field wall to become just the second player in baseball history with 700 career home runs.

While the fans gave him a raucous and prolonged ovation, Aaron - in typical fashion - slowly trotted around the bases, head down, like he had 699 other times before. A crowd of teammates wasn't even there to meet him at home plate; only after he reached the dugout was he pushed out for a much-deserved curtain call. Aaron would finish the 1973 season with 713 homers, and would break Babe Ruth's all-time mark early in 1974.

Today there are just three members of the 700 home-run club, though Alex Rodriguez sits at 696 and has a good chance to make it four by season's end. If Rodriguez hits No. 700, he'll join Aaron as the only members of the 700-homer, 3,000-hit club.

(Video courtesy: MLB.com)