Hank Aaron, one of the greatest Major League Baseball players of all-time, died on Friday, January 22, 2021. He was 86 years old.
Hammerin’ Hank played for the Braves, first in Milwaukee then in Atlanta, for most of his 23 seasons of professional baseball. He was among the greatest players of all-time and the last Major Leaguer to have played in the Negro leagues.
The right fielder had an incredible career in baseball, including passing Babe Ruth’s home run record. He hit 755 career home runs, which is the second most in the MLB (behind Barry Bonds) and had over 3,000 hits over the course of his career. Aaron made the All-Star team 21 out of 23 years in the league and he was in the top 10 list of the MVP voting for 13 of those seasons. He played in 145 games or more during 16 consecutive seasons from 1950 to 1970. Aaron had 6,856 total bases, the most in the league, with the second highest coming at 722 fewer than his.
Aaron was born on February 5, 1934 in Mobile, Alabama. His baseball talent presented early in his life and by his teen years he was playing for a semipro team. He signed to the Nego leagues’ Indianapolis Clowns, which combined comedic entertainment with baseball, similar to the Harlem Globetrotters.
He started the season in 1952 with them then signed to the Braves by June, playing for their farm team in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. A year later he was playing second base in the South Atlantic League as one of the first five black players. In ’54, he moved up to the Braves as the right fielder and had 13 home runs during his rookie season.
Aaron hit his stride in ’55 and continued to improve year after year. When the Braves won the World Series in ’57, he hit three home runs, and he hit three homers in a single game during the ’59 season. In April 1974 he had hit his 715th home run, surpassing Babe Ruth’s record. That home run led to an 11-minute ovation from the crowd at the stadium. He retired two years later.
Throughout his career, Aaron fought racism, including receiving hate mail when he was on the verge of breaking the home run record. However, he was also the favorite player to many, getting thousands of letters from fans, and appearing on major television interview shows and in magazines.
After retiring, Aaron became the Braves’ vice president in charge of player development and oversaw the farm system, a position he held until ’89. Later he was the senior vice president of the Braves and worked on the Hank Aaron Chasing the Dream Foundation.
Since his retirement, Aaron has received many accolades for his incredible achievements on the field. The Braves retired his jersey No. 44 and unveiled a statue of the slugger in April 1977. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982 during his first year of eligibility and received 97.8% of the vote from baseball writers. On the 25th anniversary of his 715th home run, the MLB created the Hank Aaron Award which is given annually to the players with the overall best offensive performances. In 2002, Aaron was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award, by President George W. Bush. In 2009 the Baseball Hall of Fame opened a permanent exhibit dedicated to Aaron.