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R.I.P To Baseball Icon Hank Aaron
R.I.P To American Icon, Great Human Being And Baseball Great Hank Aaron.
Hank Aaron hits his 715th career homer in Atlanta in on April 8, 1974.
Henry Louis “Hank” Aaron, the Baseball Hall of Famer who broke Babe Ruth’s all-time home run record in the face of racism and became a revered ambassador to the game, has died. He was 86.
Aaron, known as “Hammer” or “Hammerin’ Hank,” was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982 following an illustrious MLB career highlighted by 755 home runs — a career record that stood for more than three decades. Aaron famously broke Ruth’s longstanding home run record on April 8, 1974, hitting his 715th homer at home in Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium during a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
As he was chasing Ruth’s record, Aaron was taunted daily at ballparks, received threats on his life and was sent thousands of pieces of racist hate mail. He said he didn’t read most of the mail but kept some as a reminder.
Aaron shone brightly on the baseball diamond. He had 3,771 hits over 23 big league seasons, a milestone he would have still achieved without any home runs, according to the Braves. On May 17, 1970, Aaron became the first player in history in the 3,000-hit, 500-home run club.
The 1957 National League MVP led Milwaukee to a World Series victory that year. He was an All-Star a record 25 times.
He was one of baseball’s most consistent hitters with a .305 career batting average. He batted .300 mark 14 times, hit 30 home runs in a season 15 times, and drove in 90 runs 16 times. He also won three Gold Glove Awards playing primarily in right field.
Aaron held baseball’s career home run record until he was passed in 2007 by Barry Bonds, whose feat was tarnished by a steroid scandal. Bonds finished his career with 762 homers.
Aaron remains baseball’s all-time leader in RBI’s with 2,297 and total bases with 6,856. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982, his first year eligible.
In 1999, MLB created the Hank Aaron Award, given every year to the best hitter in both the American and National Leagues.
Aaron worked in the Braves front office since retiring from his playing career in 1976 — most recently as a senior vice president, according to the Braves. He founded the Chasing the Dream Foundation, a charity for children, in 1995. He served on the board of the NAACP and was a benefactor of the Morehouse School of Medicine.
“A little bit of Hank Aaron rubs off on you when you get to meet him,” Young said. “His personality was always calm and cool and deliberate.”
Besides his wife, Billye, Aaron is survived by his five children, Gaile, Hank Jr., Lary, Dorinda and Ceci, according to the Braves organization.