San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds hit the 755th home run of his career, tying the all-time record held by Hank Aaron since 1974.
The controversial slugger slammed the landmark homer, a 382-foot blast into the leftfield stands, off San Diego Padres right-handed pitcher Clay Hensley in the top of the second inning at Petco Park in San Diego.
Most in the sellout crowd cheered as Bonds circled the bases and was greeted by his team mates and hugged his 17-year-old son, Nikolai at home plate. The same crowd had lustily booed the outfielder just moments earlier when he strode to the plate.
It was his first at-bat in the game at a venue where a giant syringe was thrown on the field by a fan last season in protest of Bonds's long-rumoured use of performance-enhancing drugs, which critics claim has fuelled his surge in the past few years.
The left-handed hitter had gone 27 times to bat since he struck his last home run on July 27 in San Francisco.
While some still jeered as Bonds took his position in leftfield for the bottom half of second inning, most gave the 43-year-old a standing ovation and he responded by tipping and waving his cap to the stands.
Bonds turned around between pitches from his defensive post to take a long look at the spot where his home run had landed.
The specially marked ball ended up in the hands of 33-year-old Adam Hughes of San Diego suburb La Jolla.
