Hank Aaron: Legendary On and Off the Field

Hank Aaron passed away today and the headlines will read something like, “Longtime Baseball Home Run Champion Dies.”

But that’s only part of his story…

And while it would take many thousands of words to begin to recount Hank Aaron’s importance off the field, let me just offer this: he was also a champion for civil rights. In “I Had a Hammer”, Aaron’s 1991 auto-biography, he wrote, “The way I see it, it’s a great thing to be the man who hit the most home runs, but it’s a greater thing to be the man who did the most with the home runs he hit. So as long as there’s a chance that maybe I can hammer out a little justice now and then, or a little opportunity here and there, I intend to do as I always have—keep swinging.”

Henry Aaron made his name in the Major Leagues but got his start in the Negro Leagues. In 1952 at the age of 18, a contract from the Indianapolis Clowns paid him $200 per month, which was enough to lure Aaron away from his family in Mobile, Alabama. It didn’t take long for an MLB franchise to take note of his incredible hitting talent, and before long, he was playing for a Braves minor league team and on his way to superstardom. 

Over the next quarter-century, Aaron produced a legendary career, and he was beloved by millions of fans. But others were resentful as he approached Babe Ruth’s career mark of 714 home runs and Aaron then had to contend with more than just on-field challenges. Hate mail and ominous phone calls poured in, to the point where the FBI got involved to investigate threats against Aaron and his family. In his book, he said all of it—the slurs, slights, and warnings of violence if he dared to pass Ruth’s home run mark—fueled his desire to become the all-time home run king. Finally, at the start of the 1974 season, he did just that.

Two seasons later, Hank Aaron retired from baseball as the last Negro Leagues player to also play in the Major Leagues. Next, he accepted an executive front-office position with the Atlanta Braves—not a common career arc for a Black athlete in the 1970s. Aaron later owned several luxury car dealerships and fast-food franchises. And in 1982, he reached sports immortality with his enshrinement into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.

Hank Aaron wasn’t the first Black man to play Major League Baseball, that honor belongs to Jackie Robinson. But he most definitely cleared a path for other players to follow, leading with grace, humility and class. 

Kristen

*With inspiration from my good friend, colleague, and baseball encyclopedia, Paul Herdtner