Hall of Famer Profile - Hank Aaron

Hank Aaron was born in Mobile, Alabama to Estella and Herbert Aaron. He was one of eight children. Aaron attended Central High School as a freshman and a sophomore and helped lead his team to the Negro High School Championship in both years. During that time, Hank Aaron hit cross-handed, which was an extremely unconventional batting method that he eventually dropped when he reached the minor leagues.

In 1949, when Aaron was only 15 years old, he had a tryout for the Brooklyn Dodgers. He did not make the team, so he returned to school to finish his secondary education. His last two years of high school were spent at the Josephine Allen Institute, a private high school in Alabama. During his junior year, Aaron joined the Mobile Black Bears, an independent Negro league team, and he was paid $10 per game for his services.

After high school, Hank went to play for another Negro League team, the Indianapolis Clowns. At just 18 years old, Aaron was a key factor in the Clowns winning the 1952 Negro League World Series. After that season, major league offers came in from the Boston Braves and the New York Giants. Aaron eventually chose the Braves, who purchased his rights from the Clowns for $10,000.

Early Years With the Braves

Aaron made his debut on April 13, 1954. He went 0 for 5 that day. Ten days later, however, he hit his first home run off Vic Raschi of the St. Louis Cardinals. Nobody knew at the time just how important that homer was. Although he hit just 13 home runs as a rookie, Aaron would improve steadily over the next three seasons, and by 1957 he had won the National League Most Valuable Player Award when he hit .322 with 44 home runs and 132 RBI. Aaron also led the Braves to the National League pennant that season, and in the World Series against the Yankees, he hit .393 with 3 home runs. The Braves took down the Bronx Bombers in 7 games.

In 1958, Aaron's power numbers dropped a little, but he still hit .326, won the Gold Glove and led the Braves back to the World Series. This time, they would lose to the Yankees in seven games.

Some Remarkable Seasons

Throughout the rest of his career, Aaron was a strong, steady, consistent power hitter. While he never hit more than 50 in a season, he did hit 30 or more home runs in 16 out of 17 seasons from 1957 through 1973. During that stretch, he also topped 40 homers in eight different seasons. In addition to his great power, Aaron won three Gold Gloves and in 1963, became just the third player in history to hit 30 homers and steal 30 bases in a season.

Aaron also seemed to get better as he got older. In 1969, at age 35, he hit 44 homers. Two years later, when he was 37, Hammerin' Hank smacked a career high 47 home runs.

It was after that 1971 season that people first began to believe that Aaron would pass Babe Ruth's all-time home run record. He had 639 career home runs and had just finished his best season. The final 75 home runs seemed a foregone conclusion.

In 1973, Aaron closed the gap to just one home run when he hit 40 more dingers to finish the season with 713 career blasts.

Racism and Death Threats Nearly Spoil Baseball's Greatest Achievement

Because he had finished the 1973 season just one short of the record, there was plenty of time for America to celebrate Aaron's upcoming passage into baseball immortality. But not all fans were supportive of Hank. During the offseason and through spring training, Aaron received racist letters and death threats from "fans" who were angry that Henry was going to shatter a white man's record.

Aaron received a massive flood of public support in response to the bigotry. Babe Ruth's widow, Claire Hodgson, denounced the racism and declared that her husband would have enthusiastically cheered Aaron's attempt at the record.

1974: The Big Moment

Aaron tied Ruth's record in his first at-bat of the 1974 season. Four days later in Atlanta, 53,775 people showed up at the park hoping to see an historic moment. In the 4th inning against Los Angeles pitcher Al Downing, Ruth connected with a high fastball and hit it over the left-center field fence. He had done it: number seven hundred fifteen.

At the end of the 1974 season, when he had 733 career dingers, the Braves traded Aaron to the Milwaukee Brewers, where he played 1 1/2 more seasons before retiring with 755 home runs.

Hank Aaron Career Statistics and Records

In addition to his home run record, Aaron also holds the career record for RBI with 2,297. Furthermore, he ranks third all time in hits (3,771), fourth in runs scored (2,174) and first in extra base hits (1,477). He also played in a record 24 All Star games, and finished in the top 10 in voting fourteen times.

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