The Atlanta Braves franchise suffered another major blow recently, as former star Bob Horner passed away at the age of 68. It’s a tough loss for fans who were around to watch this team during their tumultuous period during the 1980s, since Horner was such an important figure to the Braves during that point in time.
Horner’s not just an important figure in Braves history but he’ll also go down in baseball history as well. While didn’t make the Baseball Hall of Fame as a player, his actions on July 6, 1986 ensured that he’ll be remembered forever in the record books. That was the day when Horner etched his name into the record books by becoming just the 11th player in baseball history (at that time) to hit four homers in a single game.
Thanks to Ted Turner’s SuperStation, the game was televised. That alone makes this a very important feat since this was very likely one of the first few times where a four-homer game had actual video evidence of the feat. The two most recent events before Horner did it was when Willie Mays hit four in one game in 1961 and then Mike Schmidt accomplished it in 1976, which means that it’s likely that Horner’s four-homer game was just the third time where people actually got to watch it as it happened on television.
As such, that means that we’ve actually got a chance to look back on how it happened. The video proof has been on MLB.com’s video search engine for quite some time now but recent events have prompted the MLB Vault YouTube channel to upload the video of all four homers from Horner’s big day back in 1986. Let’s watch some history, shall we?
It’s really lovely to hear the legendary commentators of Ernie Johnson Sr., Skip Caray and John Sterling on the call for this one. It’s also darkly funny that in typical ‘80s Braves fashion, they somehow managed to lose a game where one of their stars made history. Still, this is a golden clip and one of those things that makes baseball such a great sport. The thread of history that connects the past to the present is stronger in baseball than it is in any sport and moments like this continue to make sure that that thread allows players like Bob Horner to have their memory endure for a long, long time.
Death is always tough to handle but stuff like this is always why picture and video is so important. Bob Horner may no longer be with us here but we’ll at least have memories like this to continue to keep his legacy alive as the sport continues to progress into the future. Thanks for the memories.
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