That's the only thing that kept Willie Mays and me from being teammates fifty dollars.[24]. [36], In 1954, Aaron attended spring training with the major league club. [122] The award is given annually to the baseball hitters voted the most effective in each respective league. Aaron clobbered his 715th career home run as a member of the Atlanta Braves and passed Babe Ruth to become baseball's all-time home run king.. For fans of Major League Baseball in the 1970s, Henry Aaron's superhero-like home run did a lot of things. The Dodgers responded in the third by starting with three straight hits: Steve Garvey singled, Bill Russell doubled, and then Downing drove a single into center field, plating Garvey and sending Russell to third. (The NBA's Atlanta Hawks had previously retired No. [136], In 2002, Aaron was honored with the "Lombardi Award of Excellence" from the Vince Lombardi Cancer Foundation. Formally entitled a read more. That ball is gonna be-eee Outta here! His daughter told. Aaronhung up his cleats in 1976 with 755 career home runsa record that stood until 2007, when it was broken by controversial slugger Barry Bonds(Bonds admitted to using steroids in 2011). [139], He was named a 2010 Georgia Trustee by the Georgia Historical Society, in conjunction with the Governor of Georgia, to recognize accomplishments and community service that reflect the ideals of the founding body of Trustees, which governed the Georgia colony from 1732 to 1752. [123] In 2002, scholar Molefi Kete Asante listed Aaron on his list of 100 Greatest African Americans. The game was also broadcast nationally on NBC. 4/8/74: Vin Scully calls Hank Aaron's milestone home run as he passes Babe Ruth for the most career home runs when he slugs his 715th homerCheck out http://m. [41], At this point, Aaron was known to family and friends primarily as "Henry". He was 86. Sports Illustrated commemorates Hank Aaron's record-setting home run in 1974 in Atlanta, Georgia. [11] The 1952 season proved to be very beneficial for Aaron. But for Aaron, the journey to 715 home runs was much more complex. 0:00. [7] He was an NL All-Star for 20 seasons and an AL All-Star for one season, and he holds the record for the most All-Star selections (25),[a] while sharing the record for most All-Star Games played (24) with Willie Mays and Stan Musial. [115], At Game 3 of the 2021 World Series in Truist Park, a pregame ceremony was held honoring Aaron where his son Hank Aaron Jr. threw out a ceremonial first pitch. Aaron singled, doubled, and hit a home run in the game. Aaron holds the MLB records for the most career runs batted in (RBIs) (2,297), extra base hits (1,477), and total bases (6,856). (Neil Leifer/Sports Illustrated/Getty Images) Aaron hit 40 home runs in the 1973 season, bringing his career total to 713, one run short of the record. Hoping to lift the country out of the crippling Great Depression, Congress allowed the president to use the funds at his discretion. [146][147], The Elite Development Invitational, a youth baseball tournament organized by the Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association to increase diversity in the sport, was renamed the Hank Aaron Invitational for the 2019 season. Aaron was known to frequently read Thomas Kempis' 15th-century book The Imitation of Christ, which he kept in his locker. [23] During this time, he picked up the nickname "pork chops" because it "was the only thing I knew to order off the menu". Hank Aaron's Accomplishments. 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, Scully said. Postal Service for receiving more mail (930,000 pieces) than any person excluding politicians. During his rookie year, his other well-known nicknames, "Hammerin' Hank" (by teammates) and "Bad Henry" (by opposing pitchers) are reported to have arisen. Baseball Hall of Famer Hank Aaron, who battled racial prejudice and hatred on his way to breaking the major leagues' career home run record, has died at the age of 86, the Atlanta . He played two out of three and tied Babe Ruth's record on April 4, 1974, in his very first at-bat on his first swing of the seasonoff Reds pitcher Jack Billingham, but did not hit another home run in the series.[66]. The attack would result in the breaking of German defensive lines in just four days, eventually sending read more, North Vietnamese 2nd Division troops drive out of Laos and Cambodia to open a third front of their offensive in the Central Highlands, attacking at Kontum and Pleiku in an attempt to cut South Vietnam in two. In November 1932, at the height of the Great Depression, Governor Roosevelt of New York was elected the 32nd president of the United read more, Jomo Kenyatta, leader of the Kenyan independence movement, is convicted by Kenyas British rulers of leading the extremist Mau Mau in their violence against white settlers and the colonial government. 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. On July 13, Aaron hit a home run in the All-Star Game (played at Detroit's Tiger Stadium) for the first time. Hank Aaron, Major League Baseball's former home-run king and a cornerstone of the Atlanta Braves franchise, died on Friday. "use strict";(function(){var insertion=document.getElementById("citation-access-date");var date=new Date().toLocaleDateString(undefined,{month:"long",day:"numeric",year:"numeric"});insertion.parentElement.replaceChild(document.createTextNode(date),insertion)})(); FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. While the world knew him as Hammering Hank Aaron because of his incredible, record-setting baseball career, he was a cornerstone of our village, graciously and freely joining Mrs. Aaron in giving their presence and resources toward making our city a better place. 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. Henry Aaron Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More | Baseball-Reference.com Henry Aaron Name Note: commonly referred to as Hank Aaron Positions: Rightfielder and First Baseman Bats: Right Throws: Right 6-0 , 180lb (183cm, 81kg) More bio, uniform, draft, salary info Hall of Fame MVP 25x All-Star 1957 World Series 3x Gold Glove )[149] Also in Atlanta, the Forrest Hill Academy was renamed the Hank Aaron New Beginnings Academy in April 2021. [11] Although he appeared in just 87 games, he scored 89 runs, had 116 hits, nine home runs, and 61 RBIs. [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. Former home run record-holder and Baseball Hall of Famer Hank Aaron is awarded an honorary doctorate of humanities during commencement for the class of 2011 at Princeton University, in Princeton . A crowd of 53,775 people, the largest in the. [23] On June 12, 1952, Aaron signed with Braves' scout Dewey Griggs. I always felt like once I put the uniform on and once I got on the playing field, that I could separate the two an evil letter I got the day before or even 20 minutes before that I could also concentrate on what I had to do as far as trying to watch a fastball, somebody throwing the ball 90 mph, rather than worrying about a letter somebody sent., The best insights from the ultimate insiders, 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, On this day in history, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner among first members of National Baseball Hall of Fame, The fabled list of Yankees captains Aaron Judge joined, All of Aaron Judges home runs this season, Judges 60th blast sparks comeback as he ties Babe Ruth, now one shy of Roger Maris. [35], Aaron spent the winter of 1953 playing in Puerto Rico. On board is astronaut Ellen Ochoa, soon to become the first Hispanic woman in space. And Aaron showed grace and humility when he congratulated Bonds for beating his mark, though it was clear to everyone that it was tainted. 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. While he considered retirement, he said that he was willing to return to baseball for another year. MLB, give him back his home run record. The Arthur Blank-owned Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United FC, along with Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets have plans during their 2021 seasons to reserve 44 for Aaron. [141][142], In November 2015, Aaron was one of the five inaugural recipients of the Portrait of a Nation Prize, an award granted by the National Portrait Gallery in recognition of "exemplary achievements in the fields of civil rights, business, entertainment, science, and sports. 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. [70], On October 2, 1974, Aaron hit his 733rd home run in his last at-bat as a Braves player. He didnt know what he was taking, he testified, and thought it was all natural. 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 went on to become a revered ambassador to the game, has died. A seven-time NL MVP, the 43-year-old Bonds hit his 22nd home run of the year. [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. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Thanks for contacting us. According to the Hall of Fame 's stats keepers, Aaron leads both leagues in all-time ribbies, with 2.297 runs batted in during his storied career. The Braves were able to speak to the draft board, making the case that Aaron could be the player to integrate the Southern Association the following season with the Atlanta Crackers. [129] Later that year, he ranked fifth on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players,[130] and was elected to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. Milwaukee went on to win the World Series against the New York Yankees, the defending champions, 4 games to 3. [137], Aaron dedicated the new exhibit "Hank Aaron: Chasing the Dream" at the Baseball Hall of Fame on April 25, 2009. By Alyse Shorland, CNN (CNN) - The night of April 8, 1974, Braves outfielder Hank Aaron hit home-run number 715, broke the record held by the legendary Babe Ruth and became, at that time, the home-run leader in baseball. When the stadium was instead named Turner Field (after Atlanta Braves owner Ted Turner), a section of Capitol Avenue running past the stadium was renamed Hank Aaron Drive. The location of where Hank Aaron's record 755th home run landed has been monumented in Milwaukee. [31] On January 21, 2007, Major League Baseball announced the sale of the Atlanta Braves.