Big moments in Atlanta sports captured in new book

SI writers, editors and photographers were among hordes of baseball fans and press that followed the Braves from Cincinnati to Atlanta, waiting for Aaron's record homer. SI usually got its pick of hotel rooms, but this time, the only place they could book was hosting a morticians' convention. Leifer's baseball nostalgia is all mixed up with memories of embalming fluid.

While the stadium, packed with more than 53,000 people, held its breath, Leifer was behind first base with his camera.

"When Aaron hit the home run, everyone in every photo position in the stadium shot as much as you could," says Leifer, now 66 and a filmmaker living in New York. "When you hit a home run against the other team, they sit there with their heads down. My best picture came when Aaron crossed second base, with both the Dodgers' second baseman and shortstop shaking his hand."

More than 30 years later, another Leifer-shot image of Aaron would make the SI cover. The slide of that shot shown in the book is almost pristine, which means it had never before run in the magazine. The cover pictured a young Aaron at bat in his Braves uniform in 1964 beneath another number: 755.

Here's Leifer's take on sports photography and Aaron.

• On the 1974 Hank Aaron cover photo: "The photographer's job is to try to get there first. Otherwise, you end up shooting through people. These are instances in which I was able to get out there first or fastest. When he got to home plate, it was just a mob scene. I'm sure Aaron was waving at the crowd and acknowledging the applause for quite some time. It's not any kind of great photograph, but it's the perfect picture for this cover. When I shot it, I knew I had a nice picture, something that could conceivably run on the cover. The way SI depicted it is wonderful. You didn't need a big caption. Just '715.' "

• On photographing Aaron: "I photographed him pretty much all through his career. Hank was not known for his reactions. Hank was a very relaxed, calm guy who didn't show a whole lot of emotion on the field. Very focused."

• On the July 23, 2007, Aaron cover: "What's fun about that photo is that it ended up on the cover of the magazine 40 years later. I never remembered that picture. They called me and said, 'We're running one of your Aaron pictures on the cover this week.' It was part of the buildup to Barry Bonds. It was the kind of picture I always shot in hopes of getting a cover. Thirty, 40 years ago, I was eager to see this on the cover."

• On how sports photography is changing: "I think it's totally different. I'm not an old photographer who mocks the digital era. Today the stuff that's coming out of the sports photography world — the Leading Off section in SI every week, where they play four [two-page spreads] now — they're just outstanding. John Biever, Walter Iooss is my age — they're still taking the best damn pictures you've ever seen. The photographers who are terrific 25 years ago are terrific now. It does say something about the photographer, not the camera."