Hank Aaron: Baseball
Henry Louis Aaron, commonly known as Hank Aaron (born Feb 5, 1934 - died Jan 22 2021) is a former major league baseball player who started out at the Negro Baseball League’s Indianapolis Crowns in the 1950s and played an entire 23 seasons. He is a professional baseball right fielder and played from 1954 to 1976. Aaron spent his first 21 seasons with the Atlanta Braves in the National League (NL) and the final two years of his career for the Milwaukee Brewers of the American League (AL).
Greatest Sporting Achievement
Nicknamed “Hammer” or “Hammerin’ Hank”, he held the major league baseball (MLB) record for career home runs for 33 years and still holds numerous MLB offensive records. From 1955 to 1973, he hit more than 24 home runs every year. Until now, Hank Aarons continues to be the only player to hit more than 30 home runs in a season for at least fifteen times. During his entire career, he has hit 3,771 times, runs batted in a total of 2,297 and he’s the second baseball player to hit the most home runs with 755 hits, a record which stood for more than 20 years, surpassing Babe Ruth’s home-run record in 1974.
Why Was He So Good?
Although many people were appalled by the thought of Aaron beating Babe Ruth’s record, receiving death threats and the continuing prejudice against African American players in the majors, he continued to push forward. He didn’t try to stir up the mood but he didn’t keep his mouth shut either.
What You May Not Know
- A statue of 18-year old Hank Aaron is outside the Carson Park in Eau Claire, Wisconsin due to the fact he was part of the Eau Claire Bears, his first Minor League team.
- Hank Aaron won three Gold Glove awards as right fielder even though he had six different positions throughout his career. He played all the outfield positions, winning three Gold Gloves from seasons 1958 to 1960.
- He wore uniform number 44 during the major leagues except during his rookie year in which he wore uniform number 5.
Related Pages
- More baseball players
- Who is the greatest baseball player of all time?
- Athlete Database home
- About the sport of baseball
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