Hank Aaron Born in Mobile, Alabama

On February 5, 1934, Henry Louis Aaron was born in Mobile, Alabama. He grew up in a segregated city, played sandlot ball with bottle caps and broomsticks, and signed with the Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro American League at age 17 before the Milwaukee Braves purchased his contract in 1952.

Aaron reached the majors in 1954 and stayed for 23 seasons, compiling numbers that still define the outer edge of sustained offensive production. He finished with 755 home runs, 2,297 RBIs, 3,771 hits, and a .305 batting average. He won the 1957 National League MVP award and led the Braves to a World Series title that same year. He earned 25 All-Star selections. He won two batting titles and four Gold Gloves.

The home run record consumed the final years of his playing career. As Aaron approached Babe Ruth's mark of 714, he received an avalanche of hate mail and death threats. He needed a personal bodyguard. He kept the worst letters in a box as a reminder. On April 8, 1974, in Atlanta, he hit number 715 off Al Downing of the Dodgers. The chase had tested his endurance and his dignity, and he carried both across the finish line.

After retiring as a player in 1976, Aaron served as a senior vice president for the Braves, becoming one of the first Black executives in major league front offices. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1982 with 97.8 percent of the vote. He died on January 22, 2021, at age 86, in Atlanta.