RIP Hank Aaron

[HappyCurmudgeon]

As a black man that really grew up on baseball, losing Joe Morgan, Bob Gibson and Hank Aaron in about 3-4 months is just completely devastating. Jackie Robinson is always the standard. There's no question about that. He's the guy.

Gibson was the most feared, intimidating pitcher on earth. Morgan could do a little bit of everything. And then there's Hank. Gibson and Morgan were giants, but Hank was a giant among giants. He was like Superman. And I felt like his story was finally starting to be told. The value he had in baseball and the man that he is was just starting to be appreciated.

One of the good things to come out of the Barry Bonds chase for home runs was that Hank Aaron going to get a second chance to be placed on a pedestal even if it was less because of reverence for him and more because of the general disdain for Bonds.

People die. He was 86. He lived a long life. But I'm still hopeful there will be sort of a renaissance of black players in baseball and I wish these guys were around to see it happen.

 

[Driftwood]

Well, crap.
RIP to the Hammer, the home run king.

 

[Jake from State Farm]

One of my favorite memories was sitting in the Tiger Stadium bleachers for the 1971 All Star Game
Starting NL outfield was Aaron in left, Mays in center and Clemente in right

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

Only two living HOF members who are older -- Willie Mays and Whitey Herzog.

 

[Ookpik]

RIP

 

[BTExpress]

THE jackpot baseball card when I was a kid (took about a dozen Milt Pappasas before you ever came across an Aaron, it seemed). I've only had two favorite baseball players. He was the first.

Got to see him hit four of his 755 in person.

 

[UNCGrad]

There's so much goodness in Pos' Top 100 story on Aaron: The Baseball 100: No. 4, Henry Aaron

And Hank Aaron was not a home run hitter.

No, Aaron was a pure hitter. He was an excellent outfielder. He was a superb baserunner. And he was a metronome, pumping out the same brilliant seasons year after year and decade after decade. He led the league in total bases eight times, first as a 22-year-old, last at age 35. Eight times. Nobody — not Ruth, not Williams, not Hornsby, not Musial, not Cobb, not anybody — led the league in total bases as many times.

*

Donald Davidson was there in the crowd that day. He had been the Braves’ traveling secretary. He had given Aaron his famous uniform number, No. 44. Aaron had not asked for that number specifically, he’d only wanted a repeating number for his uniform. “You’re too skinny to have a double number,” Davidson had said, but then he made sure that Aaron got the now legendary No. 44.*

*Aaron and another 44, Willie McCovey, hold the baseball record for most home runs in a season that also matches their uniform number. Aaron hit 44 homers four times. Davidson would always say his big mistake was not giving Aaron the number 66.

*

If you took away his 755 home runs — just took them away — he would still have had 3,000 hits.

*

 

[cyclingwriter2]

Also, was the guy who incidentally gave MC Hammer his name. Either Finley or one of the As made a joke about how much they looked alike and the name stuck.

 

[qtlaw]

I’ve unfortunately never made it to Cooperstown but a traveling exhibit came to Oaktown and I read some of the hate letters and death threats Aaron got in the chase to 715, absolutely scary; amazing how he was able to overcome, and reminded me of his greatness. May he RIP.

I remember watching that ‘71 All-Star game, Aaron/Mays/Clemente, just wow.

 

[OscarMadison]

RIP.

 

[heyabbott]

Just one of the handful of the greatest players of all time. One of the greatest men across all sports and a man of absolute integrity.
I don’t know what a long life is anymore, but a life well lived is a cause to be celebrated as well as mourned. He will be greatly mourned and revered.

 

[BTExpress]

There's so much goodness in Pos' Top 100 story on Aaron: The Baseball 100: No. 4, Henry Aaron

And Hank Aaron was not a home run hitter.

No, Aaron was a pure hitter. He was an excellent outfielder. He was a superb baserunner. And he was a metronome, pumping out the same brilliant seasons year after year and decade after decade. He led the league in total bases eight times, first as a 22-year-old, last at age 35. Eight times. Nobody — not Ruth, not Williams, not Hornsby, not Musial, not Cobb, not anybody — led the league in total bases as many times.

*

Donald Davidson was there in the crowd that day. He had been the Braves’ traveling secretary. He had given Aaron his famous uniform number, No. 44. Aaron had not asked for that number specifically, he’d only wanted a repeating number for his uniform. “You’re too skinny to have a double number,” Davidson had said, but then he made sure that Aaron got the now legendary No. 44.*

*Aaron and another 44, Willie McCovey, hold the baseball record for most home runs in a season that also matches their uniform number. Aaron hit 44 homers four times. Davidson would always say his big mistake was not giving Aaron the number 66.

*

If you took away his 755 home runs — just took them away — he would still have had 3,000 hits.

*

Those are great.

Was always struck by the team pictures in the Braves' yearbooks that showed the 4-foot-2 Davidson next to everyone else.

 

[UNCGrad]

This is great from Pos as well: 60 Moments: No. 9, Henry Aaron hits home run No. 715

Love this one:

Lewis Grizzard, the legendary humorist, was the sports editor for The Atlanta Journal when Aaron broke the record. The coverage in the paper the next day was legendary on several fronts, but here’s my absolute favorite thing he did: He had reporters lined up at all the bathrooms when Aaron hit the homer.

And those reporters were there to ask fans in the bathroom their reaction when they missed it.

 

[Junkie]

RIP to a die-hard Cleveland Browns fan. I had the fortune to meet him and talk to him one day when he visited Browns training camp in the early 1990s. He held court with the media for a while, telling old stories about all sorts of things, including how he used to sneak in to Browns games at the old stadium. ... I have a ticket stub from the Reds' opening day at Riverfront Stadium in 1974, when my Grandparents saw him tie Ruth's record. Saw him play live exactly once, but had no idea at the time, as a very young kid, just how cool that was.

 

[Songbird]

Aaron was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1982 receiving votes on 406/415 ballots (97% of the vote).

Would love to know the 9 No's ...

 

[HanSenSE]

Oh **** you too 2021.

God loaded up on pitchers last year, so he needed some power in his lineup?

RIP.

 

[dixiehack]

One of Lewis Grizzard’s books (can’t remember which) went into some detail about Davidson’s so-bad-it’s-hilarious temper and his love of profanity, particularly on a memorable trip to Montreal.

 

[WolvEagle]

I guess I'm jaded in that I no longer think sports figures are heroes. But, there are a few exceptions - and Henry Aaron was certainly one of them. For what he endured and how he carried himself - simply amazing. I was 9 when he broke the record, and it was a huge, huge thrill to know that someone broke a record that many never thought could be broken.

A few years ago, a Baseball Hall of Fame traveling exhibit came to a museum in my hometown. One of the highlights was seeing the jersey he wore when he broke the record. It made me realize that he wasn't a huge guy. Next to the jersey were a couple of the racist letters he received. As a 9-year-old, I didn't think it terms of race - here was a guy I watched as a kid break a sacred record, and he did it with class. But as a adult, knowing what he went through, my respect for him is that much greater.

I bought his autobiography, "I Had a Hammer," a few years ago. It was well worth it. Oh, and that '74 baseball card pictured earlier in the thread? Mine became dog-eared. It was one of my favorite cards ever.

RIP, Mr. Aaron. Job well done.

 

[HanSenSE]

Aaron was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1982 receiving votes on 406/415 ballots (97% of the vote).

Would love to know the 9 No's ...

And Craig Sager finally has the interview.

 

[Jesus_Muscatel]

Went to see Mr. Aaron play 15-20 times during my childhood in Houston in the 1960s. Did a story on him when Mobile's minor league stadium was named after Mr. Aaron. A great, principled man who handled the death threats, the overt racism, the hate mail, with class and grace.

RIP Hammering Hank. You were one of the best.