He was a Gold Glove winner for three seasons. In 1957, he was the NL Most Valuable Player (MVP) when the Milwaukee Braves won the World Series. He won the NL Player of the Month award in May 1958 and June 1967. Aaron holds the MLB records for the most career runs batted in (RBI) (2,297), extra base hits (1,477), and total bases (6,856). Aaron is also in the top five for career hits (3,771) and runs (2,174). He is one of only four players to have at least seventeen seasons with 150 or more hits.[4] Aaron is in second place in home runs (755) and at-bats (12,364), and in third place in games played (3,298). At the time of his retirement, Aaron held most of the game's key career power hitting records.
Since his retirement, Aaron has held front office roles with the Atlanta Braves. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982. In 1999, MLB introduced the Hank Aaron Award to recognize the top offensive players in each league. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2002. He was named a 2010 Georgia Trustee by the Georgia Historical Society in recognition of accomplishments that reflect the ideals of Georgia's founders. Aaron resides near Atlanta.[5]
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Early life[edit]
Aaron was born in Mobile, Alabama to Herbert Aaron, Sr. and Estella Aaron.[6][7] He had seven siblings.[6] Tommie Aaron, one of his brothers, also went on to play Major League Baseball. By the time Aaron retired, he and his brother held the record for most career home runs by a pair of siblings (768). They were also the first siblings to appear in a League Championship Series as teammates.[8]
While he was born in a section of Mobile referred to as "Down the Bay," he spent most of his youth in Toulminville. Aaron grew up in a poor family.[6] His family could not afford baseball equipment, so he practiced by hitting bottle caps with sticks. He would create his own bats and balls out of materials he found on the streets.[9] His boyhood idol was baseball star Jackie Robinson.[10] Aaron attended Central High School as a freshman and a sophomore. Like most high schools they did not have organized baseball, and so he played outfield and third base for the Mobile Black Bears, a semipro team.[11] Aaron was a member of the Boy Scouts of America.
Although he batted cross-handed (as a right-handed hitter, with his left hand above his right), Aaron established himself as a power hitter. As a result, in 1949, at the age of fifteen, Aaron had his first tryout with an MLB franchise, the Brooklyn Dodgers; however, he did not make the team.[2][12] After this, Aaron returned to school to finish his secondary education, attending the Josephine Allen Institute, a private high school in Alabama. During his junior year, Aaron first joined the Pritchett Athletics,[12] followed by the Mobile Black Bears, an independent Negro league team.[6] While on the Bears, Aaron earned $3 per game ($97 today), which was a dollar more than he got while on the Athletics.[12]
Negro league and minor league career[edit]
On November 20, 1951, baseball scout Ed Scott signed Aaron to a contract on behalf of the Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro American League where he played three months.[13][14]
He started play as a 6 feet (180 cm), 180 pounds (82 kg), shortstop,[15] and earned $200 per month.[16] As a result of his standout play with the Indianapolis Clowns, Aaron received two offers from MLB teams via telegram, one from the New York Giants and the other from the Boston Braves. Years later, Aaron remembered:
While with the Clowns he experienced some overt racism. His team was in Washington, D.C.
The Howe Sports Bureau credits Aaron with a .366 batting average in 26 official Negro league games, with 5 home runs, 33 runs batted in (RBI), 41 hits, and 9 stolen bases.[19]
The Braves purchased Aaron from the Clowns for $10,000,[20] which GM John Quinn thought was a steal as he stated that he felt that Aaron was a $100,000 property.[16] On June 12, 1952, Aaron signed with Braves' scout Dewey Griggs.[16] During this time, he picked up the nickname 'pork chops' because it "was the only thing I knew to order off the menu."[21] A teammate later said, "the man ate pork chops three meals a day, two for breakfast."[22]
The Braves assigned Aaron to the Eau Claire Bears, the Braves' Northern League Class-C farm team.[6] The 1952 season proved to be very beneficial for Aaron. Playing in the infield, Aaron continued to develop as a ballplayer and made the Northern League's All-Star team.[6] He broke his habit of hitting cross-handed and adopted the standard hitting technique. By the end of the season, he had performed so well that the league made him the unanimous choice for Rookie of the Year.[2][6] Although he appeared in just 87 games, he scored 89 runs, had 116 hits, nine home runs, and 61 RBI.[6] In addition, Aaron hit for a .336 batting average.[6] During his minor league experience, he was very homesick and faced constant racism, but his brother, Herbert Jr., told him not to give up the opportunity.[23]
In 1953, the Braves promoted him to the Jacksonville Braves, their Class-A affiliate in the South Atlantic League.[6] Helped by Aaron's performance, the Braves won the league championship that year. Aaron led the league in runs (115), hits (208), doubles (36), RBI (125), total bases (338), and batting average (.362).[6] He won the league's Most Valuable Player Award.[6][11] and had such a dominant year that one sportswriter was prompted to say, "Henry Aaron led the league in everything except hotel accommodations."[24] Aaron's time with the Braves did not come without problems. He was one of the first African Americans to play in the league.[25] The 1950s were a period of racial segregation in parts of the United States, especially the southeastern portion of the country. When Aaron traveled around Jacksonville, Florida, and the surrounding areas, he was often separated from his team because of Jim Crow laws. In most circumstances, the team was responsible for arranging housing and meals for its players, but Aaron often had to make his own arrangements.[26] The Braves' manager, Ben Geraghty, tried his best to help Aaron on and off the field. Former Braves minor league player and sportswriter Pat Jordan said, "Aaron gave [Geraghty] much of the credit for his own swift rise to stardom."[27]
That same year, Aaron met his future wife, Barbara Lucas. The night they met, Lucas decided to attend the Braves' game. Aaron singled, doubled, and hit a home run in the game. On October 6, Aaron and Lucas married.[28] In 1958, Aaron's wife noted that during the offseason he liked "to sit and watch those shooting westerns." He also enjoyed cooking and fishing.[28]
Aaron spent the winter of 1953 playing in Puerto Rico. Mickey Owen, the team's manager, helped Aaron with his batting stance. Until then, Aaron had hit most pitches to left field or center field, but after working with Owen, Aaron was able to hit the ball more effectively all over the field.[2][better source needed] During his stay in Puerto Rico, Owen also helped Aaron transition from second baseman to outfielder. Aaron had not played well at second base, but Owen noted that Aaron could catch fly balls and throw them well from the outfield to the infield.[29]
The stint in Puerto Rico also allowed Aaron to avoid being drafted into military service. Though the Korean War was over, people were still being drafted. The Braves were able to speak to the draft board, making the case that Aaron could be the player to integrate the Southern Association the following season with the Atlanta Crackers. The board appears to have been convinced, as Aaron was not drafted.[29]
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