Henry “Hank” Aaron, commonly regarded as one of the greatest baseball players of all time, died of natural causes at the age of 86 on January 22, 2021. Aaron was born in Alabama on February 5th, 1934, and grew up alongside his seven siblings in a heavily segregated neighborhood. “I remember many times… as a little boy growing up that the Ku Klux Klan would come marching down the street for no reason at all. My mother would tell me, ‘Son, go hide under the bed,’” said Aaron. Despite subjection to hate and discrimination, Aaron found his love for baseball at a young age and was determined to make it to the Major Leagues.
In 1947 when Jackie Robinson became the first African American person to play in the MLB, hope was instilled in Aaron, as he knew his dream could become a reality. Five years later, he dropped out of high school to join the Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro Leagues. Then, in 1952, the Milwaukee Braves purchased the rights to Aaron’s contract from the Clowns for $10,000. He was sent to the minor leagues and quickly excelled, earning the honors of 1953 league MVP.
The following year, he was invited to Major League spring training where a hot streak earned him a spot on the MLB roster. Aaron finished 4th in the National League rookie of the year voting and continued to silence doubters as he earned trips to 21 consecutive all-star games – a standing record – and had 13 top-10 finishes in the National League MVP voting, including one first-place finish.
Aaron would go on to break Babe Ruth’s long-standing record of 714 home runs, hitting his 715th big fly on April 8, 1974, en route to a final total of 755 home runs over 23 MLB seasons. While this record has since been broken by Barry Bonds, who amassed 762 home runs over his career, Bonds admitted to unknowingly being administered “the clear,” scientifically known as tetrahydrogestrinone, an illegal anabolic performance-enhancing drug, and “the cream,” which is a steroid masking ointment.
Because Bonds’ total is asterisked, there is a longstanding debate over who the real career home run king is. Fieldston’s Junior Varsity Baseball Coach Ron Rowland commented: “I will always consider Hank Aaron the home run king at 715. Growing up in the ‘70s and 80’s everyone knew him and that number. I have no respect for Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa or anyone that used PEDs [whether] proven or not to enhance their home run totals.”
While Hank Aaron’s numbers speak to his outstanding success on the field, his impact on baseball goes far beyond what he did with the bat in his hands. Hank Aaron was instrumental in the process of integrating the MLB and was even awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2002 for his work. “He was a great spokesman for the game and class act on and off the field,” remarked Rowland, “I consider him as important as Jackie Robinson in terms of breaking down the social… and racial barriers in America.” In Aaron’s honor, the Hank Aaron Award is given each year to the best all-around offensive player in the MLB.
