Hammerin Hank

Henry Louis “Hank” Louis aka Hammerin’ Hank was born the third of eight children to *Herbert and Estella Aaron on February 5, 1934. He grew up in poverty in Mobile Alabama and developed an early love of the game of baseball. He played whenever he could on vacant lots.

He started off playing semiprofessional baseball for the Mobile Black Bears before signing a contract with the Indianapolis Clowns of the American Negro League in 1952. In May of that same year he signed with the Boston Braves of the National League. Within the Braves National League *farm club* in Eau Claire, Wisconsin he was awarded Rookie of the Year.

In 1953, Aaron along with two other African American baseball players were picked to integrate the South Atlantic League located in Jacksonville Fl. After playing with the Braves Class A farm team he was elevated in 1954 to the Braves’ major league club.

In 1957 he was named the National League’s MVP and was traded after 21 seasons with the Braves’ to the American League’s Milwaukee Brewers where he completed his career in 1976.

Aaron had several notable accomplishments during his career. One of the most celebrated came on April 8, 1974 when he matched the career home run record of 715 home runs set by Babe Ruth. This occurred during a came against the Los Angeles Dodgers played in Fulton County Stadium.

Shortly after this accomplishment Aaron began receiving racial insults and death threats from Babe Ruth fans who didn’t want him to outdo Babe Ruth’s record.

Aaron, by the end of his career, accomplished some *feats that are still standing on the record* books today. These include 3,771 base hits (which follow behind Pete Rose* and Ty Cobb); 755 home runs (which he leads in); 2297 runs batted; 1,477 extra-base hits; 6,856 total bases. Aaron record of 2,174 runs scored ties him with Babe Ruth for second in history only behind Ty Cobb.

In 1982, Aaron was inducted into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. After retiring as a baseball player, Aaron returned to the Braves organization as director of player development until he was promoted to vice president. Aaron is also vice president of Turner Broadcasting Company.

Tribute done by the Miami Heat to Hank Aaron