Grace Under Fire
Hank Aaron began his career in the Negro Leagues with the Indianapolis Clowns (Globetrotter’s baseball counterpart) and later succeeded in breaking the most cherished record in baseball: Babe Ruth’s career home run record of 714. He persevered despite death threats and other distractions to accomplish the feat with grace, dignity, and humility. In many ways, Aaron’s record setting, without any artificial aids, was an important step in furthering the civil rights movement. He finished his career with 755 home runs…an average of 32 home runs per season!
Hank began playing baseball with a stick and hitting bottle caps. He also once said that his strong hands were the result of picking cotton which he had to do most of his childhood years. After a short stint in the minors Hank joined the Boston Braves, later to become the Milwaukee then Atlanta Braves, and finished his 21-year career with Milwaukee Brewers. His excellence was exhibited an entire generation both with integrity and humility; he was consistently good and powerful!
Hammer’s Three Golden Rules of Success
1. Keep swinging! If you are in a slump or feeling bad, keep swinging!
2. At bat, you are alone…make a mistake, it is yours, get a hit, it is yours.
3. Failure is part of success.
“Hammerin’ Hank” never complained about the unfairness of his baseball beginnings, but he did work hard to improve each season. He began as a shortstop but moved to the outfield. Hank played in both Major Leagues and finished his career as a designated hitter. He realized that to complete your goals/mission, you must be amenable to change and he was until he retired. He later became an ambassador of the game and has left a great legacy as a solid role model and ball player.
Career Highlights
NL MVP (1957); 2 time Batting Champ; 4 time HR Champ; 25 All Star games;
.305 career batting average; 3771 career hits; 15 years with 30+ home runs;
755 Home Runs; 2297 RBIs (#1 all time); 6856 Total Bases (#1 all time); 1477 Extra Base Hits (#1 all time).
Hank was elected to the Hall of Fame (1982), received the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2002), and also received the President’s Citizen Medal. Both the Atlanta Braves and Milwaukee Brewers retired his number 44 and in 1999 Major League Baseball named the top offensive player of the year award, the Henry Aaron Award.
“I do not want people to forget Babe Ruth, I just want them to remember me!” |