Braves legend Hank Aaron dies at age 86. The man who played a pivotal role in changing the face of Baseball and the Civil Rights movement. He was a young boy who had an amazing talent and wanted to play the game. His entrance into the professional world of baseball came at a time when our country was in major turmoil.
Henry Louis Aaron was Born on February 5, 1934 in Mobile, Alabama. He had 7 siblings. His Brother, Tommie Aaron, also played Major Leagues Baseball. Upon Aaron’s retirement, he and his brother were the record holders for most career home runs by a pair of siblings (768). They were also the first siblings to appear in a League Championship Series as teammates.
At the age of 15, Aaron had his 1st tryout with an MLB franchise, the Brooklyn Dodgers; however, he didn’t make the cut. He returned to Alabama and completed High School.
Aaron was a cross-handed batter (right-hand hitter, with left hand above his right), this quickly established his reputation as a power hitter. After High School, Aaron joined with the Pritchett Athletics, followed by the Mobile Black Bears, an independent Negro league where he earned $3 per game. Today the players earn $99 per game with the Black Bears.
Negro League and Minor League Career
On November 20, 1951, Hank Aaron signed a contract to play shortstop with the Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro American League, where he played for 3 months. As a result of his outstanding play with the Indianapolis Clowns, Aaron received two offers from MLB teams, one from the NY Giants and one from the Boston Braves. Many years later, Aaron recalls: “I had the Giants’ contract in my hand. But the Braves offered fifty dollars a month more. That’s the only thing that kept Willie Mays and me from being teammates – fifty dollars.”
The Braves purchased Aaron’s contract from the Clown’s for $10,000. GM at the time, John Quinn, thought that was a steal because he felt Aaron was a $100,000 property. On June 12, 1952 Aaron signed with signed with Braves’ Scout Dewey Griggs and was assigned to the Eau Clair Bears, the Braves’ Northern League Class-C farm team.
The 52 season was was beneficial and he continued to develop as a player and made the League’s All-Star team. He broke his habit of hitting cross-handed and adopted the standard hitting technique. By the end of the season, he has performed so well, by unanimous choice, Hank Aaron was Rookie of the Year. While only playing in 87 games, he managed to to score 89 runs, 116 hits, 9 home runs and 61 RBI. In addition, he hit for a .336 batting average. Amazing season for such a young boy facing such turmoil. He was missing home and facing racism.
Segregation
In 1953, Aaron was promoted to the Jacksonville Braves, their Class-A affiliate in the South Atlantic League. Along with Aaron’s outstanding performance, the Brave’s won the League Championship that year. He led the league in runs (115), hits (208), doubles (36), RBI (125), total bases (338), and batting avg. (.362). He won the League’s MVP award! However, his time with the league did not come with problems. The 1950s were a period of racial segregation and Aaron was often separated from teammates because of Jim Crow laws. In most cases the team took care of all accommodations and arrangements, but Aaron often had to take care of his own arrangements. He was often faced with listening to dishes being thrown and broken in kitchens of restaurants where he’d just eaten because they had been used by a black man. He was facing a tough road.
In the winter of 1953 Aaron played in Puerto Rico and worked on his batting stance. He also transitioned to outfield. Aaron had a knack for catching flyballs and throwing them back to the infield well. His stint in Puerto Rico also allowed him to avoid being drafted. Though the Korean War was over, people were still being drafted. The Braves spoke on behalf of Aaron to the draft board. Their case was that Aaron could be the player to integrate the Southern Association the following season with the Atlanta Crackers. Their argument passed muster.
MLB Career
On March 14, 1954 Hank Aaron made his first spring training start for Braves’ major league team, playing in left field and hitting a home run. This led to a major league contract, signed on the final day of spring training, and a Braves uniform with the number 5.
- On April 13, Aaron made his major league debut and was hitless in five at-bats against the Cincinnati Reds’ left hander Joe Nuxhall.
- On April 15, Aaron collected his 1st major league hit off Cardinals’ pitcher Vic Raschi.
- Aaron hit his first major league home run-on April 23, also off Raschi.
- Over the next 122 games, Aaron batted .280 with 13 homers before he fractured his ankle on Sept 5.
Then he changed his number to 44, which would turn out to be a “lucky number” for the slugger. He would hit 44 home runs in 4 different seasons and he hit his record breaking 715th career home run off Dodgers pitcher Al Downing, who also wore, you guessed it, number 44.
Hank Aaron – “nicknames”
- Henry – to close Family and Friends
- Hank – (PR felt that made him accessible)
- Hammerin Hank – By teammates in his Rookie Year
- Bad Henry – By opposing pitchers
- Stone-fingers – given to him later in his career
Prime of his Career
Aaron hit .314 with 27 home runs and 106 RBI, in 1955. He was named to the NL All-Star roster for the first time; it was the first of a record 21 All-Star selections and first of a record 25 All-Star Game appearances. In 1957, Aaron won his only NL MVP Award.
On September 23, 1957 in Milwaukee, Aaron hit a two-run walk-off home run against the St. Louis Cardinals, clinching the pennant for the Braves. After touching home plate he was carried off the field by his teammates. It was the only pennant-clinching walk-off home run in major league history in a non-playoff regular season game. Milwaukee went on to win the World Series against the Yankees, the defending champions, 4 games to 3. Aaron did his part by hitting .393 with three homers and seven RBI. In 1958, Aaron hit .326, with 30 home runs and 95 RBI. He led the Braves to another pennant, but this time they lost a seven-game World Series to the Yankees. Aaron finished third in the MVP race and he received his first of three Gold Glove Awards.
Milestones
During the next several years, Aaron had some of his best games and best seasons as a major league player. On June 21, 1959, against the SF Giants he hit three two-run home runs. It was the only time in his career that he hit three home runs in a game.
- In 1963, Aaron became the third player to steal 30 bases and hit 30 home runs in a single season.
- The Braves moved from Milwaukee to Atlanta after the 1965 season. On May 10, 1967, he hit an inside-the-park home run in Philadelphia. It was the only one of his career.
- In 1968, Aaron was the first Atlanta Braves player to hit his 500th career home run.
- On May 17, 1970. Aaron was the first Atlanta Brave to reach 3,000 career hits.
- In 1970 Aaron established the record for most seasons with thirty or more home runs in the National League.
1971 Milestones
- April 27, 1971, Aaron hit his 600th career home run, the third major league player ever to do so.
- On July 13, Aaron hit a home run in the All Star Game (played at Detroit’s Tiger Stadium) for the first time.
- He hit his 40th home run of the season against the Giants’ Jerry Johnson on August 10, which established a National League record for most seasons with 40 or more home runs (seven).
- At age 37, he hit a career-high 47 home runs during the season (along with a career-high .669 (slugging percentage) and finished third in MVP voting for the sixth time.
1972 Milestones
- During the strike-shortened season of 1972, Aaron tied and then surpassed Willie Mays for second place on the career home run list.
- Aaron also drove in the 2,000th run of his career and hit a home run in the first All-Star game played in Atlanta.
- As the year came to a close, Aaron broke Stan Musial’s major-league record for total bases (6,134).
- Aaron finished the season with 673 career home runs.
Hank Aaron chases Babe Ruth
Before anyone realized Aaron was chasing Babe Ruth’s record. He was downplaying it. However, baseball fans and national media grew more and more excitable as he closed in on the 714 career home runs record. Aaron received so much mail that summer he had to hire a secretary just to help him sort thru it. That year, 1973, Aaron ended one run shy of breaking Babe Ruth’s record.
Hank Aaron said his biggest fear was that he would live to see the 1974 season to try again. He received so many death threats because people did not want to see Aaron break Ruth’s record. The local sports editor, Lewis Grizzard, also received numerous calls. While he was preparing for coverage, he quietly had an obituary written, afraid that Aaron might be murdered. When news got back to Babe Ruth’s widow of all the craziness, she put a stop to it. She clearly stated that her husband would have been enthusiastically cheering Aaron’s attempts.
Therefore, as the 1974 Season opened in Cincinnati, there was a small controversy. Management wanted the record to be broken in Atlanta, but rules were he had to play at least 2 of the 3 game series in Cincinnati. He played and tied the record in his first at bat.
They made it home to Atlanta and on April 8, 1974 with a crowd of 53, 775 people, in the 4th inning Aaron hit home run number 715 off LA Dodgers pitcher Al Downing.
Home Run “715” Call
Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully addressed the racial tension – or apparent lack thereof – in his call of the home run: “What a marvelous moment for baseball; what a marvelous moment for Atlanta and the state of Georgia; what a marvelous moment for the country and the world. A black man is getting a standing ovation in the Deep South for breaking a record of an all-time baseball idol. And it is a great moment for all of us, and particularly for Henry Aaron … And for the first time in a long time, that poker face in Aaron shows the tremendous strain and relief of what it must have been like to live with for the past several months.”
On October 2, 1974 Aaron hit his 733rd home run in his last at bat as a Braves player. He was acquired by the Milwaukee Brewers 31 days later on November2. On May 1, 1975, Aaron Broke baseball’s all-time RBI record, previously held by Ruth with 2,213. That year he also played in his last and 24th All-Star Game.
Hank Aaron hit his 755th and final home run on July 20, 1976, at Milwaukee County Stadium. Hank Aaron – a baseball legend. May you Rest in Peace.
