Hank Aaron Biography

(One of the Greatest Baseball Players in History)

Birthday: February 5, 1934 (Aquarius)

Born In: Mobile, Alabama, United States

The rag to riches story of Hand Aaron, a retired American baseball player, is remarkable and inspirational in the true sense. Born in an extremely poor family, little Aaron had to take up several odd jobs to support his family. With hardly any interest in studies and a passion for sports, he had made up his mind about baseball from a very young age. Therefore, when opportunity knocked his door, he took it and never turned back. However, his ethnicity as an African-American, always posed as an obstacle. Being an African-American and playing major league was far from being appreciated and he was continually threatened with dire consequences. However, his daunting spirit and his blind love for the game, kept him going and took him all the way up, to the top of the success ladder. Soon, he proved his worth in major league baseball and set new records. After an immensely successful stint, he was honored with several awards and medals and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Despite being born and raised in the unfortunate circumstances of poverty and racism, Aaron was never really bogged down by these challenges. He had his goal set, right from beginning and crossed every hurdle that came his way to be become a baseball legend.

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Quick Facts

Nick Name: Hammer, Hammerin' Hank, and Bad Henry

Also Known As: Henry Louis Aaron, Hammerin' Hank

Died At Age: 86

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Billye Aaron (m. 1973), Barbara Lucas (m. 1953–1971)

father: Herbert Aaron

mother: Estella

siblings: Alfredia, Gloria Delilah Aaron, James

children: Ceci Aaron, Dorinda Aaron, Gaile Aaron, Gary Aaron, Hank Aaron Jr., Lary Aaron

Born Country: United States

African American Men African American Baseball Players

Height: 6'0" (183 cm), 6'0" Males

Died on: January 22, 2021

place of death: Atlanta, Georgia, United States

U.S. State: Alabama, African-American From Alabama

City: Mobile, Alabama

More Facts

awards: 1955 - All-Star
1956 - All-Star
1957 - All-Star

1958 - All-Star
1959 - All-Star
1959 - All-Star
1960 - All-Star
1960 - All-Star
1961 - All-Star
1961 - All-Star
1962 - All-Star
1962 - All-Star
1963 - All-Star
1964 - All-Star
1965 - All-Star
1966 - All-Star
1967 - All-Star
1968 - All-Star
1969 - All-Star
1970 - All-Star
1971 - All-Star
1972 - All-Star
1973 - All-Star
1974 - All-Star
1975 - All-Star
1958 - Gold Glove Award
1959 - Gold Glove Award
1960 - Gold Glove Award
1956 - NL batting title
1959 - NL batting title
1957 - NL home run champion
1963 - NL home run champion
1966 - NL home run champion
1967 - NL home run champion
1957 - NL MVP
1970 - Lou Gehrig Memorial Award

Childhood & Early Life
Aaron was born into a poor family to Herbert and Estella Aaron as the third of their eight children.
He attended the Central High School, where he played football and baseball and was outstanding in both. Later, he transferred to Josephine Allen Institute, a private school, for a better future in baseball.
In 1951 he quit school and played for the ‘Negro Baseball League's Indianopolis Clowns’.
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Career
After leading his team to success in the 1952 Negro League World Series, he joined the Milwaukee Braves, who put him the minor league baseball ‘Eau Claire Bears’.
He made his Major League debut in 1954 and finished the season with a fair .280 hit score. He finished the 1955 season with a .314 average, 27 home runs and 106 RBI
He played exceptionally well in 1956 and in 1957 he won the ‘Most Valuable Player’ title after making 44 homeruns and hitting an impressive .322. The same year he led his team Milwaukee Braves to a surprise victory in the World Series over the New York Yankees.
He reached a whopping 3000 hit in 1970, while playing against Cincinnati Reds and became the first player to reach this far.
In 1973, he fell short of one run, in breaking the record of legendary player Babe Ruth, who had a total of 714 homeruns. However, in April 1974 he broke the record and created his own with a massive 715 homeruns. The same year on October 5, he hit his last homerun to make a total of 733 runs.
It was speculated that he would retire and when did not, his team traded him to Milwaukee Brewers. He broke the ‘Run batted in’ (RBI) record of Babe Ruth once again, in May 1975.
In 1976, he retired as a player and joined the Atlanta Braves as their executive and later became their vice-president. His job was to look for new team prospects and supervise the coaching of minor leaguers which resulted in making the Braves one of the strongest teams in National League. He was later promoted as their senior vice-president.
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Awards & Achievements
Aaron was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on August 1, 1982, after a ballot in which he came second.
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On January 8, 2001, U.S. President Bill Clinton awarded him the second highest civilian award ‘Presidential Citizens Medal’.
Molefi Kete Asante, an African-American scholar, historian, and philosopher, entered Aaron’s name on his list of ‘100 Greatest African-Americans’, in 2002.
He received the ‘Presidential Medal of Freedom’ the highest civilian honor, from U.S. President George W. Bush in June 2002.
Personal Life & Legacy
Aaron married Barbara Lucas in 1953 and the couple had four children before they divorced in 1971.
He married Billye Williams in 1973 and has one daughter Ceci with her.
He is the elder brother of Tommie Lee Aaron, a baseball player who died at 45 after suffering from leukemia.
He published his autobiography ‘I Had a Hammer’ in 1990.
‘Hank Aaron Award’ was created in 1999 to be awarded to the best hitter who performs the best in each league.
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Trivia
This famous American baseball player was the first one to hit 500 home runs and reach 3,000 hits.
This great American baseball player and his younger brother were the first siblings to play in a League Championship Series as fellow players.

See the events in life of Hank Aaron in Chronological Order

How To Cite

Article Title
- Hank Aaron Biography
Author
- Editors, TheFamousPeople.com
Website
- TheFamousPeople.com
URL
https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/henry-louis-hank-aaron-1567.php

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