ST. LOUIS -- Before Hank Aaron¡¯s 710th home run landed in the Atlanta Stadium seats on Sept. 10, 1973, another professional baseball career that spanned 31 seasons was born.

Turner Ward, a 9-year-old kid in the Atlanta crowd that night, looked on wide-eyed as the baseball landed just feet from him and his older brother, Wes. Witnessing the excitement surrounding Aaron¡¯s chase of Babe Ruth¡¯s then-record 714 home runs convinced Ward -- who lived just a few miles away from Aaron¡¯s Mobile, Ala., birthplace -- of his path in life.

¡°When Hank hit that ball and it was flying out to left field, I know a lot of people would think I caught that ball when I¡¯m telling the story, but I didn¡¯t,¡± Ward recalled recently. ¡°What I caught that night was a dream. The dream, in that moment, was me knowing that I wanted to be a Major League player, and I was able to live that dream for a long time.¡±

As fate would have it, it wasn't the last time Ward witnessed an historic 700th-plus home run.

Ward, now 59 years old and out of baseball after ending a stint as hitting coach for the Cardinals, owns the rare distinction of witnessing two 700-plus homers in person. Just four sluggers in AL/NL history -- Barry Bonds (762), Aaron (755), Ruth (714) and Albert Pujols (703) -- are in the 700-homer club, and Ward had personal relationships with two -- Aaron and Pujols.

Years after seeing Aaron hit No. 710, Ward met the legendary slugger when Ward managed the Double-A Mobile BayBears (who played in Hank Aaron Stadium from 1997-2019). Later, Ward was the Cardinals¡¯ assistant hitting coach when Pujols swatted his 699th and 700th home runs on Sept. 23, 2022.

¡°Seeing Albert and Hank do what they did is pretty incredible, and I have so much respect for both of them,¡± Ward said. ¡°Those two moments were so powerful for me. One, as a kid starting this dream to make the big leagues, and [then] watching [Pujols] accomplish his dreams. It was amazing.¡±

Another part of Ward¡¯s baseball journey intertwined him in the history of home run greats. Ward, the gritty outfielder with occasional power, reached the big leagues on Sept. 10, 1990, 17 years to the day that he -- along with brothers Wes and Wade and father, Dr. James Ward -- was in the crowd to witness Aaron¡¯s 710th homer.

¡°It was the only Major League game I saw in person before I made it to the big leagues,¡± Ward marveled. ¡°My dad took my brothers and myself out of school to go to the game, and we made the five-hour trip. Every time Hank swung, [flashbulbs] were popping all over the stadium.¡±

Ward¡¯s pro career started when the Yankees picked him in the 18th round of the 1986 MLB Draft. He played for Cleveland, Toronto, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, Arizona and Philadelphia over a career that spanned parts of 12 seasons. He was a .251 hitter with 39 career homers in 626 games. Nicknamed ¡°Country,¡± Ward parlayed his skill into a lengthy career as a hitting coach for the D-backs, Dodgers, Reds and Cardinals.

Ward's final stop brought him into contact with Pujols, who wowed baseball fans by going on a home run spree late in 2022 that allowed him to surpass 700 homers. Not long after, Ward wondered if he might be the only person in baseball to have witnessed two 700-plus homers in person.

¡°Maybe there¡¯s somebody else out there who has seen a couple of 700 homers like me,¡± he said. ¡°But, for me, going from Mobile to Atlanta to Los Angeles, that part of it is pretty amazing.¡±