In the world of sports there are a select few who are privileged to hold the title of a “true legend.”
Walter Payton, Arthur Ashe and Brazilian soccer player Pelé have all gone down in history as the greatest players of their respective sports.
In the world of baseball, Henry Louis “Hank” Aaron holds the title of one of the best that every played the game. In a sport that is now plagued with athletes abusing steroids and performance enhancing drugs, baseball legends like Aaron allow us to remember how the game should always be played.
Born on Feb. 5, 1934, in Mobile, Ala., Aaron discovered his passion for playing baseball at an early age. Aaron grew up poor and had to pick cotton with his family to make ends meet. He attributes the time he spent picking cotton to the strength built up in his hands that allowed him to hit home runs during his career.
Aaron was so passionate about playing baseball that he had to improvise by hitting bottle caps with sticks because his family could not afford baseball equipment.
During his early years in Mobile, Aaron was determined to succeed as a baseball player. His hard work paid off when he had his first tryout for the Brooklyn Dodgers at the age of 15. Just like many greats today, Aaron was not selected to play with the team and returned to school to finish up his secondary education. Aaron would later be drafted during his junior year in high school to play for his first minor league team.
Aaron’s minor league career as a baseball player began when he was signed to play for the Indianapolis Clowns on Nov. 20, 1951. Growing up as a player, Aaron looked up to a number of people who inspired him. In a recent interview with Brenden Steiner, Aaron attributes much of his success to those that paved the way for him to be who he is today.
“I really admired Jackie Robinson as a player and Dr. Martin Luther King for the things he did as a civil rights leader,” said Aaron. Aaron has continued to remain humble as a person due to those who influenced him in his early years.
During his career he has donated most of his memorabilia to the Baseball Hall of Fame. He attributes his reason for donating to the museum to his love for the fans and those who helped him have a great career.
“I want people to come by and see my memorabilia and say ‘that’s from when Hank Aaron did this’ or ‘that was from when Hank Aaron did that.’ It’s not about me keeping all that stuff, but it’s about me sharing my success with others,” said Aaron.
Aaron would spend four years with the Indianapolis Clowns before being signed to the Milwaukee Brewers in 1954. During his years with the Indianapolis Clowns and Brewers, Aaron had to deal with a lot of racism in the various places that the team played down South. Aaron had to find alternative housing because people of color could not stay in certain hotels. He also had to eat his meals with Black families because many of the restaurants in the cities they played in did not allow people of color to dine in their facilities.
Aaron would spend most of his 23-year career with the Atlanta Braves when the team was bought from the city of Milwaukee in 1965. His career would be highlighted with many broken records and he became the 5th player to hit 500 home runs. Aaron would surpass baseball great Mickey Mantle’s homerun record on July 31, 1969. People around the nation and world would start to take notice of Aaron’s homerun streak because he was getting close to surpassing Babe Ruth’s homerun record of 714. During this time Aaron started to feel the pressure mounting on him reaching 715 homeruns.
“During that time I started getting death threats so I had to travel with security,” said Aaron. The threats got so bad to the point to where the widow of Babe Ruth spoke out and stated that her husband would be cheering for Aaron if he were still alive. In spite of the increasing threats against his life, Aaron would continue to persevere as he downplayed breaking Babe Ruth’s record.
On April 8, 1969, at the age of 40, Hank Aaron would hit his 715th homerun at a home game in Atlanta against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The homerun was hit from a pitch from Al Downing. As Aaron made his way to home base, he was welcomed by his mother who had been his biggest fan since he started playing. Aaron even joked during an interview with Brandon Steiner that he didn’t expect his mother to be standing at home base after hitting his homerun.
“When I was running into the home plate I was expecting to see Dodgers players standing there, but seeing my mother was a good thing,” said Aaron.
It’s been said that the game of baseball would not be what it is today without baseball legends like Jackie Robinson, Willie Mays, Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle and Hank Aaron.
Aaron broke the color barrier by playing baseball as an African-American from the South. On April 8, 1974, history was not only made in the world of baseball, but history was made with one statement: that Blacks and whites could come together to celebrate a milestone. It was through the life of Aaron and his passion for playing the game of baseball.
Aaron was asked what he would like young players to remember when it comes to playing baseball.
“I would like players to take the game very seriously. It’s only a select few that can play at the highest level, so they should appreciate where they are if they are playing at that level,” said Aaron.
