Hank Aaron was born Henry Louis Aaron in Mobile, Alabama on February 5, 1934, one day and 39-years after Babe Ruth was born. He is the third and last child to Herbert and Estella Aaron. His father's occupation was an assistant to a boilermaker, which obviously didn't make much as it was during the time of the Great Depression.
Hank was always interested in baseball, even as a young child. His playing also kept him out of trouble. Hank went to a segregated all-black African American school. After that, he attended Mobile Central High School. During his time in high school, he played on the school's softball team. He also played baseball outside of school to keep him busy during the day.
During a school softball game, Hank was approached by Ed Scott, a baseball scout for the Mobile Black Bears, a Negro League team. He played for the Black Bears at a salary of $10 a game, and when he turned 18, he signed with the Indianapolis Clowns for $200 a month. After proving his talent with the Clowns, Aaron was approached by Dewey Griggs, a scout for the the Milwaukee Braves.
Aaron soon began playing in the minor leagues in the Braves organization. He won the MVP that season, as well as making the All-Star team for his league. During this time period, he met Barbara Lucas. They dated for several months and were married on October 13, 1953.
On March 14, 1954, the Braves called up Aaron to play for injured left fielder), Bobby Thompson. Hank finished the season on the injured list with a broken ankle after an aggressive slide. The following year, Aaron switched positions to right field. He led the league that season in doubles, hitting 37.
Hank Aaron had a talent for hitting the ball. In eleven of his major league seasons, he had at least a 100 RBIs. He made the All-Star game an unprecedented 21 times. Hank Aaron's 109th home run proved to be explosive, as it earned the Braves the penant during the 1957 season. That same year, the Braves defeated the New York Yankees in the World Series, four games to three. Shortly after the '57 season, Aaron's wife Barbara gave birth to twins, but sadly one of them died at birth.
In 1970, his 17th major league season, he reached 3000 hits. When he reached that milestone, he had at the time 570 home runs. Little did he know that he was still almost 200 home runs shy before he would retire.
In the winter of 1971, Hank and Barbara divorced as things between them kept coming apart. Two years later, Hank would meet another woman, Billye Williams, whom he would marry.
He ended his career in 1974 with 755 home runs, the record he is most widely known for. It is sad that he received death threats when he was close to passing Babe Ruth's record of 714, because fans didn't want to see a black man hold the record. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1982 with a 97.83% majority (406/415 votes in his favor). He led the National League in home runs and RBIs four times in his career. He won the batting title twice. He is the all-time leader in home runs (755) and RBIs (2,297). He is third on the all-time list in hits (3,771). Henry "Hammerin' Hank" Aaron earned his nickname because of all the home runs he hit. He raised the bar for home runs.
Hank Aaron still works for baseball as an exec in the Atlanta Braves organization. He has five children: Gail, Hankie, Larry, Dorinda and Ceci.
Below are the main highlights and statistics of Hank Aarons career:
- Bats: Right
- Throws: Right
- NL MVP: 1957.
- Gold Glove award: 1958-60.
- The Sporting News NL Player of the Year: 1956, 1963.
- NL batting champion: 1956 (.328), 1959 (.355).
- NL home run champion: 1957 (44), 1963 (44), 1966 (44), 1967 (39).
- NL RBI leader: 1957 (132), 1960 (126), 1963 (130), 1966 (127).
- NL total bases leader: 1956 (340), 1957 (369), 1959 (400), 1960 (334), 1961 (358), 1963 (370), 1967 (344), 1969 (332).
- NL slugging percentage leader: 1959 (.636), 1963 (.586), 1971 (.669)
- NL runs scored leader: 1957 (118); 1963 (121); 1967 (113).
- NL hits leader: 1956 (200), 1959 (223).
- NL doubles leader: 1955 (37), 1956 (34), 1961 (39), 1965 (40).
- Three home runs in one game: June 21, 1959.
- All-time home run leader: 755.
- All-time games played: 3,298.
- All-time at-bats leader: 12,364.
- All-time RBI leader: 2,297.
- All-time total bases leader: 6,856.
- All-time extra-base hits leader: 1,477.
- Elected to Baseball Hall of Fame: 1982.
These are Hank Aaron's career statistics:
Batting
YEAR TEAM G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG
1954 MLN NL 122 468 58 131 27 6 13 69 2 2 28 39 .280 .322 .447
1955 MLN NL 153 602 105 189 37 9 27 106 3 1 49 61 .314 .366 .540
1956 MLN NL 153 609 106 200 34 14 26 92 2 4 37 54 .328 .365 .558
1957 MLN NL 151 615 118 198 27 6 44 132 1 1 57 58 .322 .378 .600
1958 MLN NL 153 601 109 196 34 4 30 95 4 1 59 49 .326 .386 .546
1959 MLN NL 154 629 116 223 46 7 39 123 8 0 51 54 .355 .401 .636
1960 MLN NL 153 590 102 172 20 11 40 126 16 7 60 63 .292 .352 .566
1961 MLN NL 155 603 115 197 39 10 34 120 21 9 56 64 .327 .381 .594
1962 MLN NL 156 592 127 191 28 6 45 128 15 7 66 73 .323 .390 .618
1963 MLN NL 161 631 121 201 29 4 44 130 31 5 78 94 .319 .391 .586
1964 MLN NL 145 570 103 187 30 2 24 95 22 4 62 46 .328 .393 .514
1965 MLN NL 150 570 109 181 40 1 32 89 24 4 60 81 .318 .379 .560
1966 ATL NL 158 603 117 168 23 1 44 127 21 3 76 96 .279 .356 .539
1967 ATL NL 155 600 113 184 37 3 39 109 17 6 63 97 .307 .369 .573
1968 ATL NL 160 606 84 174 33 4 29 86 28 5 64 62 .287 .354 .498
1969 ATL NL 147 547 100 164 30 3 44 97 9 10 87 47 .300 .396 .607
1970 ATL NL 150 516 103 154 26 1 38 118 9 0 74 63 .298 .385 .574
1971 ATL NL 139 495 95 162 22 3 47 118 1 1 71 58 .327 .410 .669
1972 ATL NL 129 449 75 119 10 0 34 77 4 0 92 55 .265 .390 .514
1973 ATL NL 120 392 84 118 12 1 40 96 1 1 68 51 .301 .402 .643
1974 ATL NL 112 340 47 91 16 0 20 69 1 0 39 29 .268 .341 .491
1975 MIL AL 137 465 45 109 16 2 12 60 0 1 70 51 .234 .332 .355
1976 MIL AL 85 271 22 62 8 0 10 35 0 1 35 38 .229 .315 .369
CAREER 3298 12364 2174 3771 624 98 755 2297 240 73 1402 1383 .305 .374 .555
Fielding
YEAR TEAM POS G PO A E DP FP
1954 MLN NL OF 116 223 5 7 0 .970
1955 MLN NL OF 126 254 9 9 2 .967
2B 27 86 84 6 23 .966
1956 MLN NL OF 152 316 17 13 4 .962
1957 MLN NL OF 150 346 9 6 0 .983
1958 MLN NL OF 153 305 12 5 0 .984
1959 MLN NL OF 152 261 12 5 3 .982
3B 5 2 10 0 0 1.000
1960 MLN NL OF 153 320 13 6 6 .982
2B 2 1 0 0 0 1.000
1961 MLN NL OF 154 377 13 7 3 .982
3B 2 2 2 0 0 1.000
1962 MLN NL OF 153 340 11 7 1 .980
1B 1 1 0 0 0 1.000
1963 MLN NL OF 161 267 10 6 1 .979
1964 MLN NL OF 139 270 13 5 5 .983
2B 11 14 15 1 2 .967
1965 MLN NL OF 148 298 9 4 2 .987
1966 ATL NL OF 158 315 12 4 5 .988
2B 2 0 0 0 0 .000
1967 ATL NL OF 152 321 12 7 3 .979
2B 1 1 0 0 0 1.000
1968 ATL NL OF 151 330 13 3 2 .991
1B 14 88 7 2 8 .979
1969 ATL NL OF 144 267 11 5 3 .982
1B 4 32 2 0 3 1.000
1970 ATL NL OF 125 246 6 6 1 .977
1B 11 73 4 1 6 .987
1971 ATL NL 1B 71 629 38 3 56 .996
OF 60 104 2 2 0 .981
1972 ATL NL 1B 109 968 66 14 79 .987
OF 15 28 4 3 0 .914
1973 ATL NL OF 105 206 5 5 0 .977
1974 ATL NL OF 89 142 3 2 0 .986
1975 MIL AL OF 3 2 0 0 0 1.000
1976 MIL AL OF 1 1 0 0 0 1.000
POSITION TOT OF 2760 5539 201 117 41 .980
1B 210 1791 117 20 152 .990
2B 43 102 99 7 25 .966
3B 7 4 12 0 0 1.000
CAREER 3020 7436 429 144 218 .982
Below is the speech that Hank Aaron gave on August 1, 1982. The speech was for his acceptence into the Baseball Hall of Fame:
Thank you very much, Commissioner Kuhn, League Presidents and other distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. I feel a great sense of humility, gratitude and appreciation for this day. And for what it means to me and my family. I'm extremely proud to be joining a group of men who performed on the baseball field. Epitomized the highest and the best in professional athletics. I am pleased to be joining them in the company of Travis Jackson, Happy Chandler and Frank Robinson, some of baseball's greats.
I also feel especially proud to be standing here where some years ago Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella proved the way and made it possible for Frank and me and for other blacks, hopeful in baseball. They proved to the world that a man's ability is limited only by his lack of opportunity.
The sheer majesty of this occasion and its significance overwhelms me. For truly I reflect on my life and particularly on my 23 years in baseball. I am reminded of a statement I once read, and I quote, "The way to fame is like the way to heaven. Through much tribulation." It had been for me, to quote a very popular song, the long and winding road. Nevertheless, I have been extremely blessed.
I stand here today because God gave me a healthy body, a sound mind and talent. For 23 years I took the talent that God gave me and developed it to the best of my ability.
Twenty-three years ago, I never dreamed of this high honor would come to me. For it was not fame I sought, but rather the best baseball player that I could possibly be.
I grew up in a home where there was little in the way of material goods. But there was an abundance of love and discipline. We, therefore, had much to share. And so too is this occasion an occasion for sharing, an occasion for thanksgiving. For I did not make this journey alone. A lot of people contributed in a lot of different ways to my success as a professional baseball player. And to them a deep debt of gratitude. The list is far too long for me to mention all of them, however, I must mention a few.
I would like to acknowledge the presence of my parents, Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Aaron. Without whose love and encouragement, this day could not have been. My wife, Billye, who brought an awful lot of sunshine into my life. And I would like to introduce my children, Gail. Hankie. Larry. Dorinda. Ceci. Who have been supportive and understanding of my long absences away from home.
My sisters and brothers who have always been some of my biggest fans. My teammates of the Milwaukee Braves, Atlanta Braves and Milwaukee Brewers. Thank you.
I want to thank the wonderful people of Milwaukee and Atlanta where I spent my baseball career. I also would like to thank Mr. John Mullen, who was introduced earlier; Mr. Bill Bartholomay and also my boss, Mr. Ted Turner from the Atlanta Braves. Thank you for coming. And we also have, sitting on the front seat, Mr. Al Farnwell, the executive vice president. Thank you very much for coming.
Finally, I would like to thank some special friends and family who traveled here to be with me on this occasion. From Atlanta, Dr. Benjamin E. Mays, an ardent baseball fan, distinguished educator and presidented meritice of Morehouse College, who today celebrated his 88th birthday. Thank you very much, Dr. Mays.
I would also like to thank the Lockets, Sam Franco. My in-laws, the McDaniels and the Swedes. Permit me also to express a special thanks to Mr. Walter John and Mr. Carl Ware and other executives from the Coca-Cola company for their presence and for providing transportation for my children and some of their friends from Atlanta. Including Marvin Harrington, former Mayor Maynard Jackson and Congressman Wyche Fowler and their many other friends here.
And there are many other friends here who I just cannot mention all of them. All of you have touched my life in a very positive way. I'm so grateful to you and so very pleased that you could share this evening with me. Thank you very much.
Sources:
http://history1900s.about.com/cs/aaronhank
http://www.infoplease.com/ipsa/A0108954.html
http://www.baseball-reference.com/a/aaronha01.shtml
http://darter.ocps.net/classroom/who/darter2/haaron.html
http://www.blountweb.com/outtasite/2001/football/historic/hank_aaron.htm
http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/hofers_and_honorees/hofer_bios/aaron_hank.htm
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