Baseball and sports fans everywhere mourn the death of Hank Aaron. Hammerin’ Hank Aaron was 86.
I remember seeing Hank Aaron play in Atlanta. I was just a young girl, but I understood that I was watching the great Hank Aaron play for the Atlanta Braves.
Blessed with powerful wrists that made Hank Aaron one of the game’s most feared hitters, he posted 14 seasons with a .300 average — the last of them at age 39 — and claimed two National League batting titles. He finished with a career average of .305.
Aaron spent 21 of his 23 seasons with the Braves, first in Milwaukee, then in Atlanta. He finished his career back in Milwaukee, traded to the Brewers after the 1974 season when he refused to take a front-office job that would have required a big pay cut.
In 1974, in front of a packed Atlanta Stadium and a national television audience, Aaron broke Ruth’s home run record with No. 715. It was a title he would be hold for more than 33 years, a period in which the Hammer was one of America’s most iconic sporting figures, a true American treasure.
After retiring in 1976, Aaron became a revered figure. He was thrilled when the U.S. elected its first African-American president, Barack Obama, in 2008. Former President Bill Clinton credited Aaron with helping carve a path of racial tolerance that made Obama’s victory possible.
He will be remembered as well as his quiet nature. Hank Aaron endured racist threats with stoic dignity during his pursuit of Babe Ruth’s home run record.
He got the vaccine just this month, which turned out to be his last public appearance. He said it was important to him to spread the word about the vaccine and encourage others to get it.
Aaron’s death follows that of seven other Baseball Hall of Famers in 2020 and two more -- Tommy Lasorda and Don Sutton -- already this year.
In 1999, MLB created the Hank Aaron Award to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Aaron’s passing Ruth’s home run record of 714 and to honor Aaron’s many contributions to baseball.
Read and view more about Hank Aaron and Baseball in our books from our collection:
Hank Aaron and the Home Run the Changed America by Tom Stanton.
The Hall: A Celebration of Baseball's Greats.
Last Time Out: Big League Farewells of Baseball's Greats by John Nogowski.
The Last Hero: A Life of Henry Aaron by Howard Bryant.
Game Worn: Baseball Treasures from the Games's Greatest Heroes and Moments by Stephen Wong.
Long Time Coming: A 1955 Baseball Story.