Hank Aaron

Guide Note:

Hank Aaron was one of the best baseball players to ever swing the bat. Nicknammed "Hammerin' Hank", Aaron broke Babe Ruth's fabled career home run record in 1974. Aaron's record would stand for 33 years, before being broken by Barry Bonds in 2007. Aaron was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982.

Fast Facts

1. Was the All-time Home Run leader from 1974 to 2007
2. 2007: Barry Bonds passed him on the HR list
3. Hall of Fame inductee: 1982
4. 1957 NL MVP
5. 24-time All-Star (Major League record)

One of seven children, Aaron grew up poor in Mobile, Alabama, and began his baseball playing career in the Negro Leagues, first with the Mobile Black Bears and then with the Indianapolis Clowns. In 1952, Aaron helped the Clowns win the Negro League World Series, and he attracted the notice of major league teams. Aaron went on to sign with the then-Boston Braves, only five years after Jackie Robinson broke the color line with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Aaron would play his entire career in the Braves organization. While in the Braves minor league affiliates, Aaron encountered Jim Crow laws as his team traveled from city to city, and being one of the few black players in the league, the experience steeled Aaron against any challenges to come.

In 1954, Aaron began playing for the Milwaukee Braves, and the following year made his first of a 24 All-Star teams. He won the National League Most Valuable Player Award in 1957, and led the National League in home runs four times (he finished twice two times.) He also led the league in batting average in 1956 and 1959

As Aaron's career lengthened, he began passing some of the greatest home run hitters of all time, such as Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays on the all-time list. In 1973, it was widely expected that he would break the record, but he came one home run short of tying the record, finishing with 713 home runs, having hit 40 for the season. Over the winter, Aaron received racist death threats which were widely reported in the media. Finally, on April 8, 1974, Aaron broke Ruth's record with a fourth-inning home run off of Dodgers pitcher Al Downing in front of over 53,000 people at Milwaukee's Fulton County Stadium. The next year, Aaron was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers, where he finished out his career as a designated hitter. He hit his last home run—number 755—in 1976.