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Baseball Greats - Hank Aaron

Hank Aaron (born Henry Louis Aaron in February of 1934) is a native of Mobile, Alabama, and one of the most revered baseball players of all time. This Baseball Hall of Fame inductee is most well known for his record of most home runs in a career, totaling 755. This surpassed Babe Ruth’s record of 714. Other records held by Hank Aaron include career RBI’s (runs batted in, numbering 2,297), extra base hits (1,477), and total bases (totaling 6,856). He carries one World Series ring, won with the Milwaukee Braves in 1957, during which he was awarded the National League Most Valuable Player Award.

Aaron hit his 500th home run in 1968. On the day in July that he did so, he was the second youngest player to ever do so (by just a few days) and only the eighth ever to complete such a task. His 3000th career hit took place in May of 1970 with a single in the second game of a doubleheader. In 1971, home run number 60 was hit, and Aaron hit a homer in his first All Star Game. Throughout his career, he worked to surpass each record holder, and by 1972, when Aaron surpassed Willie Mays, followed by Lou Gehrig, and finally, he was in a position to directly challenge ‘the Babe’s’ record.

In 1973, this chase became a hot topic, and Aaron began receiving an estimated 3,000 letters per day. This is the largest sum up to that day, with the exception of political letters sent to government agents and agencies. However, many of these letters were not fan mail and read more like hate letters, using unsavory terms that start with the letter ‘n’ and spouting out vicious racial hatred.

The letters changed Aaron’s life and forced him to focus on his future. In the 1973 season, he hit 40 home runs in just 392 at-bats. He was 39 years old, and this feat made the Braves the first team to have three players or more to reach the mark of 40 home runs in a season. Aaron ended the season with a remarkable 713 homers during his career.

Due to his success and place in history, including a great game for decades and a fabulous history in baseball, his #44 jersey has been retired by both the Atlanta Braves and Milwaukee Brewers, the two teams for which Aaron played.