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756: Greatest living athletes offer kudos to Bonds

Josh Dubow / Associated Press
Wednesday, August 8, 2007

Not interested in being in attendance when his 33-year-old record was broken, Hank Aaron offered a video tribute to Barry Bonds after the San Francisco Giants slugger hit the record-breaking homer off Mike Bacsik of the Washington Nationals.

"I would like to offer my congratulations to Barry Bonds on becoming baseball's career home run leader. It is a great accomplishment which required skill, longevity and determination," Aaron said Tuesday night.

"Throughout the past century, the home run has held a special place in baseball, and I have been privileged to hold this record for 33 of those years. I move over now and offer my best wishes to Barry and his family on this historic achievement.

"My hope today, as it was on that April evening in 1974, is that the achievement of this record will inspire others to chase their own dreams."

The message was greeted by two standing ovations from the Giants fans and capped a roster of sporting luminaries who offered their congratulations to Bonds in video messages shown on the scoreboard during his chase of the record.

First was Joe Montana, then Michael Jordan. They were followed by Wayne Gretzky and Muhammad Ali - a remarkable collection of some of the greatest living athletes in a variety of sports.

The first message came from Montana, the Hall of Fame quarterback who led the San Francisco 49ers to four Super Bowl titles. When the Giants returned home for their first game after Bonds hit his 753rd homer July 23, Montana's message was played:

"Hey Barry, Joe Montana here. Congratulations on a great career and good luck on the road to history. And remember don't just break that record, give Õem a number that no one will reach."

Next up in this batting order for the ages was Jordan, the NBA great who is one of the most recognized athletes in the world. On the night Bonds hit homer No. 754, Jordan's message was played:

"Hey Barry, it's Michael Jordan. I just want to congratulate you on your historic event. I'm very happy for you. Ever since the first day I saw you in the batting cage, you've been working toward this for a long period of time. So I want to wish you and Elizabeth and that beautiful girl of yours congratulations. I'm very happy for you."

Bonds was greeted the next night with a pregame message from Gretzky, the greatest hockey player ever:

"Hey Barry, Wayne Gretzky here. On behalf of my wife and kids we want to congratulate you on a job well done, but remember don't stop there. And we'll be rooting for you as you chase down history."

When Bonds returned home Monday night for the first time since tying Aaron's mark on Saturday in San Diego, it was boxing legend Ali and his son, Asaad:

"Hey Barry, this is Asaad; I'm here with my father, Muhammad. We want to congratulate you on hitting 755 home runs; it's been a great milestone. We've both been great fans of yours throughout your career. We just want to wish you good luck on your road to history. Don't stop."