"[143][144], In January 2016, Aaron received the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette from Akihito, the Emperor of Japan. [11] He won the league's Most Valuable Player Award,[11][18] and had such a dominant year that one sportswriter was prompted to say, "Henry Aaron led the league in everything except hotel accommodations. Playing off the intense interest in their perceived rivalry, Aaron and Bonds made a television commercial that aired during Super Bowl XLI, shortly before the start of the 2007 baseball season, in which Aaron jokingly tried to persuade Bonds to retire before breaking the record. Aaron attended the dedication. By 1969, his chances of breaking the Babe's record were in sight. Well, to believe that you have to accept that Barry Bonds, with 762, didnt cheat to get there. . [15] Aaron attended Central High School[b] as a freshman and a sophomore. He died on January 22, 2021, at age 86. During the 1936 season, Lou Gehrig of the New York Yankees terrorized the Cleveland Indians by slamming fourteen home runs against the club a Major League record for most home runs against the same team in a season. [11] While on the Bears, Aaron earned $3 per game ($30 today), which was a dollar more than he got while on the Athletics. [136], In 2002, Aaron was honored with the "Lombardi Award of Excellence" from the Vince Lombardi Cancer Foundation. 755", "Bonds Hits No. Hank Aaron & Barry Bonds Retirement (2002)", "Hank Aaron, Home Run King Who Defied Racism, Dies at 86", "Famous Religious Conversions Hank Aaron", "Baseball's home run king Hank Aaron fought racism on and off the field", "Hall of Famer Hank Aaron's death unrelated to Covid-19 vaccination", "Health experts urge confidence in vaccine after superstar's death", "Baseball legend Hank Aaron got virus vaccine earlier in January", "Hall of Famer Henry "Hank" Aaron dies at 86", "Hank Aaron, baseball legend and former home run king, dies at 86", "Private funeral service for Hank Aaron announced", "Tributes pour in honoring the legendary Hank Aaron", "Players, celebrities and fans react to the death of baseball legend Hank Aaron", "Gov. During the next several years, Aaron had some of his best games and best seasons as a major league player. [77] The trade re-united Aaron with former teammate Del Crandall, who was now managing the Brewers. Hank Aaron, who endured racist threats with stoic dignity during his pursuit of Babe Ruth but went on to break the career home run record in the pre-steroids era, died early Friday. [44], Sal Maglie recommended throwing low curveballs to Aaron. [65] As the 1974 season began, Aaron's pursuit of the record caused a small controversy. In 1974, after tying Ruth on Opening Day in Cincinnati, Ohio, Aaron came home with his team. Aaron led the league in runs (115), hits (208), doubles (36), RBIs (125), total bases (338), and batting average (.362). [131], In June 2000 Tufts University awarded Aaron an honorary Doctor of Public Service. [8] In 1999, The Sporting News ranked Aaron fifth on its list of the "100 Greatest Baseball Players". He hit 24 or more home runs every year from 1955 through 1973, and is the only player to hit 30 or more home runs in a season at least fifteen times. It is expected the Gwinnett County professional teams, the AAA Gwinnett Stripers (2021 season) and AA Atlanta Gladiators (202122 season), will also be involved in temporarily retiring Aaron's 44. [100] He and several other African American public figures, including activist Joe Beasley, Andrew Young, and Louis Sullivan, did so to demonstrate the safety of the vaccine and encourage other black Americans to do the same. A crowd of 53,775 people, the largest in the history of Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, was with Aaron that night to cheer when he hit a 4th inning pitch off the Los Angeles Dodgers Al Downing. The spot sits outside American Family Field, where the Milwaukee Brewers currently play. [72] He had also said that he would be interested in serving as a team's general manager, someone who would make decisions and not a house boy. [52] Aaron was, at the time, the second-youngest player to reach the milestone. On May 17, Aaron collected his 3,000th hit, in a game against the Cincinnati Reds, the team against which he played in his first major-league game. [148], Atlanta-area sports teams planned to honor Aaron during the 2021 seasons. [85][non-primary source needed] As Bonds began to close in on the record during the 2007 season, Aaron let it be known that, although he recognized Bonds' achievements, he would not be present when Bonds broke the record. "[95] Sablica said in an interview that he wouldn't have blamed Aaron if he stopped practicing, and Aaron indeed attended Friendship Baptist Church toward the end of his lifenoting in his autobiography that he didn't remain Catholic for very long after converting. Aaron spent his 23-year big league career with two organizations. We've received your submission. On April 27, 1971, Aaron hit his 600th career home run, the third major league player ever to do so. He was named a 2010 Georgia Trustee by the Georgia Historical Society in recognition of accomplishments that reflect the ideals of Georgia's founders. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Ken Severson 2 all-time, died January 22. The night they met, Lucas decided to attend the Braves' game. Listen to HISTORY This Week Podcast: More Than a Home Run. [11] Over the next 122 games, Aaron batted .280 with 13 homers before he suffered a fractured ankle on September 5. [81] Aaron was then named the Braves' vice president and director of player development. [106][107] Fans paid tribute to Aaron by placing flowers in front of the home run wall where he hit his 715th home run at the former site of Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium and in front of his statue at Truist Park.[108]. [138] Statues of Aaron stand outside the front entrance of both Turner Field and American Family Field. ", "There was a big catch holding on to No. "A grand jury, a tell-all book and a congressional committee have combined to form a major-league needle puncturing baseball's public image" , reported Chris Jenkins of USA Today in 'Players Admit Steroids Changed Baseball' (USA Today, 03/15/2005) Between February 17, 2005 and March 9, 2005 five-hundred . Henry Louis Aaron (February 5, 1934 - January 22, 2021), nicknamed "Hammer" or "Hammerin' Hank", was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1954 through 1976. There's a new home run champion of all time, and it's Henry Aaron! The board appears to have been convinced, as Aaron was not drafted. Baseball legend Hank Aaron, who broke Babe Ruth's career home run record, has died, the Atlanta Braves announced Friday. Aaron finished third in the MVP race and he received his first of three Gold Glove Awards. Lewis Grizzard, then-executive sports editor of The Atlanta Journal, reported receiving numerous phone calls calling journalists "nigger lovers" for covering Aaron's chase. He again finished third in National League MVP voting. Aaron broke Babe Ruth's career home run record in 1974 despite enduring racism and went on to hit 755 homers in a 23-year career. In the joy of the moment, the months of threats and insults were forgotten. The Braves opened the season on the road in Cincinnati with a three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds. [137], Aaron dedicated the new exhibit "Hank Aaron: Chasing the Dream" at the Baseball Hall of Fame on April 25, 2009. Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms released the following statement on his death: Derek, our family and I join the nation in sending heartfelt condolences to Mrs. Billye Aaron, the beautiful wife of Henry Hank Aaron for nearly 50 years, and the entire family. Similarly, the point where Aaron's 715th homer landed, upon breaking Ruth's career record in 1974, is marked in the Turner Field parking lot. Baseball's all-time home run king, Hank Aaron did more than hit home runs. [127], On February 5, 1999, at his 65th birthday celebration, Major League Baseball announced the introduction of the Hank Aaron Award. On October 6, Aaron and Lucas married. 756. [78], Aaron hit his 755th and final home run on July 20, 1976, at Milwaukee County Stadium off Dick Drago of the California Angels, which stood as the MLB career home run record for 31 years until it was broken in 2007 by Barry Bonds. Hank Aaron, one of the greatest baseball players of all time, died Friday at age 86. [61] The threats extended to those providing positive press coverage of Aaron. [59], Aaron (then age 39) hit 40 home runs in 392 at-bats, ending the 1973 season one home run short of the record. [119], Aaron was awarded the Spingarn Medal in 1976, from the NAACP. On May 1, 1975, Aaron broke baseball's all-time RBI record, previously held by Ruth with 2,213. [11] His family could not afford baseball equipment, so he practiced by hitting bottle caps with sticks. He went on to become one of baseballs first African American executives, with the Atlanta Braves, and a leading spokesperson for minority hiring. On June 21, 1959, against the San Francisco Giants, he hit three two-run home runs. This is wrong. Aaron would finish the season in Atlanta, go back to Milwaukee for two seasons as the Brewers' DH and end his career with 755 home runs. [38] In the same game, Eddie Mathews hit two home runs, the first of a record 863 home runs the pair would hit as teammates. While he was born in a section of Mobile referred to as "Down the Bay", he spent most of his youth in Toulminville. 0:00. [123] In 2002, scholar Molefi Kete Asante listed Aaron on his list of 100 Greatest African Americans. [11][12] He had seven siblings. Four days earlier, in Cincinnati, he had homered in his first at-bat of the season to tie Ruth at 714. Aaron has the second most home runs ever? [50] In 1968, Aaron was the first Atlanta Braves player to hit his 500th career home run, and in 1970, he was the first Atlanta Brave to reach 3,000 career hits. All that hatred left a deep scar on me. He started play as a 6ft (180cm), 180lb (82kg) shortstop,[22] and earned $200 per month. Many current or former athletes and team owners such as MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, Magic Johnson, David Ortiz, Dusty Baker, Eduardo Prez, Mike Trout, and Baseball Hall of Fame chairman Jane Forbes Clark paid tribute to him. And for the first time in a long time, that poker face of Aarons shows the tremendous strain and relief of what it must have been like to live with for the past several months.. He divorced Barbara in 1971 and married Billye Suber Williams on November 13, 1973. The high-profile incident drew worldwide attention to the problem of piracy, commonly believed to be a thing of read more, On April 8, 1990, 18-year-old Ryan White dies of pneumonia, due to having contracted AIDS from a blood transfusion. It was the only time in his career that he hit three home runs in a game. In his last two seasons, he was primarily a designated hitter. Note that seasons prior to 1876 are not included in single-season marks, but are included in career marks. Lucy says in the August 11 strip, "Hank Aaron is a great player but you! He finished the 1973 season with 713 home runs -. Formally entitled a read more. [94], Sablica also encouraged him to "attend Mass every Sunday" during Spring Training, to which he responded with the racist realities of the day: "[In Bradenton], they won't let me go to Mass. 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. [31], In December 1980, Aaron became senior vice president and assistant to the Braves' president. [11] Tommie Aaron, one of his brothers, also went on to play Major League Baseball. [86] After Bonds hit his record-breaking 756th home run on August 7, 2007, Aaron made a surprise appearance on the JumboTron video screen at AT&T Park in San Francisco to congratulate Bonds on his accomplishment: I would like to offer my congratulations to Barry Bonds on becoming baseball's career home run leader. Thanks for contacting us. [8], In 1999, major league baseball created the Hank Aaron Award, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Aaron's surpassing of Babe Ruth's career home run mark of 714 home runs and to honor Aaron's contributions to baseball. Aaron sold all but the Toyota dealership in McDonough in 2007. Kemp orders flags to fly at half-staff to honor Hank Aaron", "Georgia Governor Brian Kemp: flags to fly at half-staff in honor of Hank Aaron", "Statement of President Joe Biden on the Passing of Henry Louis "Hank" Aaron", "President Joe Biden calls Hank Aaron 'an American hero', "Atlanta Braves 44: Hank Aaron's number painted on the field", "World Series Game 3: Braves hold emotional tribute to Hank Aaron", "Aaron's spirit lives on in World Series tribute", "Atlanta Braves receive World Series rings featuring 18.71-karat white gold, 755 diamonds and, yes, pearls", "Are These the 4 Most Important Athletes in Atlanta History? [152][153], MLB held two All-Star Games from 1959 through 1962. Aaron reportedly received 930,000 pieces of mail in 1973 the year before he broke Ruths record with enough including threats that the FBI got involved to protect him and his family. Considered one of the greatest baseball players in history, he spent 21 seasons with the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves in the National League (NL) and two seasons with the . Throughout the past century, the home run has held a special place in baseball and I have been privileged to hold this record for 33 of those years. [2] Aaron is also third all-time for career hits (3,771) and fifth in runs scored (2,174). There is also a statue of him as an 18-year-old shortstop outside Carson Park in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, where he played his first season in the Braves' minor league system.