You probably don’t remember what you were doing on Monday, April 8, 1974 (if you were even around then), but if I told you that was the day (or night, rather) that Henry Louis “Hank” Aaron hit the 715th home run of his career at Atlanta Fulton County Stadium to break Babe Ruth’s long standing record of 714, a record that many though would never be broken, chances are you were sitting in front of your TV watching it happen while listening to Vin Scully making the call.

And while everyone knows that Aaron eventually went on to hit a total of 755 home runs before retiring in 1976 and was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982, not everyone knows that the Dodgers played a major role on that historic night of April 8, 1974 – except Dodger fans, of course.

While most Dodger fans know that “Hammerin’ Hank” hit number 715 off of Dodger right-hander Al Downing, only die-hard Dodger fans know that it was former Dodger left fielder Bill Buckner who actually scaled the chain link fence in left field in an attempt to prevent his teammate from having the dubious honor of forever being remembered as the guy who served up that record-breaking home run – to no avail, of course.

Dodger left fielder Bill Buckner actually climbed the left field fence at Atlanta Fulton County Stadium to try to prevent Hank Aaron’s record-setting 715th home run from going out. He never had a chance. (AP Photo)

On this day when we recognize Aaron’s historic feat, what about that guy who risked life and limb to climb that chain link fence wearing steel baseball cleats? What ever happened to Bill Buckner?

William Joseph “Bill” Buckner was born on December 14, 1949 in Vallejo, California and grew up in the nearby community of American Canyon. Buckner graduated from Napa High School in 1968 where he played both baseball and football. While playing football, Buckner was a two-time All-State wide receiver and also achieved All-America honors twice.

Buckner was selected by the Dodgers in the second round of the 1968 MLB draft (his close friend Bobby Valentine was the Dodgers’ first round pick). After signing with the Dodgers, “Bucks” began his professional baseball career with the Ogden Dodgers of the Pioneer League. He also briefly attended the University of Southern California and Arizona State University and became a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity while in the Dodgers minor league system.

On September 21, 1969 at age 19, Buckner made his major league debut with the Dodgers appearing in one game as a pinch hitter (he popped out). He began the 1970 season with the Dodgers, but after batting a weak .121, he was sent back down to Triple-A Spokane. After batting .335 with the Spokane Indians, Buckner received his second September call-up to the Dodgers and hit .257 in September and October, with four RBIs and five runs scored.

Buckner earned the opening day right field job for the Dodgers in 1971 and also saw some time at first base. And though he made 87 starts at first in 1973, he was relegated to left field when Steve Garvey became the Dodgers regular first baseman.

At the conclusion of the 1976 season, the Dodgers traded Buckner to the Cubs (along with Ivan De Jesus Sr.) for Rick Monday and Mike Garman. In his 773 games with the Dodgers, Buckner batted a respectable .289 with 38 home runs and 277 RBIs.

In his first season with the Cubs in 1977, Buckner suffered a staph infection in his ankle and upon his return, the Cubs moved him over to first base, the only position he would play for the remaining fourteen years of his career. During his seven seasons with the Cubs, Buckner batted over .300 four times and led the league with his .324 average in 1980. He was the Cubs lone representative in the 1981 All-Star Game.

On May 25, 1984, Buckner was traded to the Red Sox for Dennis Eckersley and Mike Brumley. The Red Sox were 19–25 and in sixth place in the AL East at the time of the trade and went 67–51 the rest of the way to finish the season fourth in the division.

Buckner appeared in every game for the Red Sox in 1985, batting .299 with sixteen home runs and a career high 110 RBIs. Known as a perpetual contact hitter, Buckner struck out only 36 times in 718 plate appearances in 1985 to lead the league in that category. He also led the league in most at bats per strike out in 1980, 1982 and 1986, and placed second in 1979, 1981, 1983 & 1987. In 1985, Buckner set the Major League record for assists by a first baseman in a season with 184. His record stood for nearly 25 years until broken by (then) Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols in 2009 with 185 assists.

In September 1986, Buckner had perhaps the best month of his career hitting .340 with eight home runs and 22 RBIs, this in spite of missing three games due to chronic ankle pain. Back-up first baseman Dave Stapleton began seeing more playing time as a late innings defensive replacement for Buckner in September and October. It was during this time that Buckner became the first major league player to wear Nike high-top baseball cleats in an effort to relieve pressure on his ankles.

Although Buckner drove in over 100 runs for the second season in a row and was a key factor in the Red Sox winning the AL East by 5.5 games, he entered Game five of the 1986 ALCS against the Angels batting only .111 in the series and was 0 for 3 in the game when he singled to start the ninth inning rally that was capped off by Dave Henderson’s famous home run. Buckner went 3 for 6 in the final two games of the ALCS to help the Red Sox came back from the brink of elimination to win the AL pennant.

Up three games to two over the heavily favored Mets in the 1986 World Series, Game-6 went into extra innings tied at 3. Buckner was batting just .143 against Mets pitching and was 0 for 5 in Game 6. When the Red Sox scored two runs in the top of the 10th inning, it appeared that the Curse of the Bambino was finally going to be put to rest. For reasons known only to him, Red Sox manager John McNamara chose to leave Buckner and his ailing ankles in the game for the bottom of the inning instead of bringing Stapleton in as a defensive replacement, something that McNamara had done in games 1, 2 and 5.

In that fateful inning, the Mets came back to tie the game on consecutive two-out singles off Red Sox reliever Calvin Schiraldi and a wild pitch by reliever Bob Stanley bringing Mookie Wilson to the plate. Wilson fouled off several pitches before hitting a slow roller to Buckner at first base. Aware of Wilson’s speed, Buckner tried to rush the play. As a result, the ball rolled past his glove and through his legs and into shallow right field, allowing Ray Knight to score the winning run and tie the series at 3 games a piece.

Many believe that even if Buckner had fielded Mookie Wilson’s slow roller to first, the speedy Wilson would have beaten Buckner to the bag anyway. (AP Photo)

The Red Sox led Game 7 by a score of 3–0 heading into the bottom of the 6th inning when the Mets scored three runs off of left-hander Bruce Hurst to tie the game. They added three more runs off of Schiraldi in the 7th inning to take a 6–3 lead. Even though Buckner was 2 for 4 and scored one of two runs the Sox plated in the 8th inning, the Red Sox comeback fell short with the Mets winning the game by a score of 6-5 to give them their second World Series title in franchise history.

Regardless of Schiraldi’s absolutely horrible pitching, Stanley’s wild pitch, or any of the other real reasons that led to Boston’s implosion during the 1986 World Series, it is and always will be Buckner’s error that fans will remember as the sole cause for the Red Sox losing the 1986 World Series.

“I don’t feel sorry for Bill Buckner,” said Mookie Wilson after Game-6. “Bill doesn’t want anyone to feel sorry for him because what happened. That play has happened a thousand times before then and it will happen a thousand times after so long as we keep playing this game.”

“It’s amazing to me that Bill has been scrutinized so badly for a play that even if he makes the catch I‘m not sure he beats Mookie to the bag,” said the late Gary Carter after the series ended. “Everybody forgets that it still wasn’t the series. There was still Game 7.”

The Red Sox released Buckner on July 23, 1987, after recording a .273 batting average, two home runs and 42 RBI through 95 games. Upon his release from the Red Sox, Buckner signed with the Angels and finished the season hitting .306 with 32 RBIs in only 57 games.

On May 9, 1988 at 38 years of age, Buckner was released by the Angels just before a road trip that would have taken him back to Boston for the first time since the 1986 World Series. He signed with the Kansas City Royals shortly after his release and walked into Fenway Park as a player for the opposing team for the first time on July 15. He went 1 for 4 off of Roger Clemens.

Buckner returned to the Red Sox in 1990 as a free agent and received a standing ovation from the crowd during player introductions at the home opener on April 9. His return was short lived, however, as he retired on June 5 with a .186 batting average, one home run and three RBIs.

On April 8, 2008, Buckner threw out the ceremonial first pitch to former teammate Dwight Evans at the Red Sox home opener as they unfurled their 2007 World Series championship banner. He received a four minute standing ovation from the sell-out crowd. After the game he was asked if he had any second thoughts about appearing at the game.

“I really had to forgive not the fans of Boston, per se, but I would have to say in my heart I had to forgive the media for what they put me and my family through. So, you know, I’ve done that and I’m over that.”

After retiring from baseball, Buckner and his family moved to Idaho where he invested in real estate in the Boise area. One of his housing developments is named Fenway Park. He also became part owner of a local car dealership in Emmett, Idaho which fell victim to the financial crisis in 2008.

Buckner was inducted into the Napa High School Hall of fame in 1997 and the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Hall of Fame in 2010.

In December 2011, Buckner was named as the hitting instructor for the Boise Hawks, the Low-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs, a position which he still holds today.

I had the pleasure of meeting Bill Buckner at Hohokam Stadium in Mesa, AZ during spring training. (Photo credit Mike LeClair)