Baseball legend Hank Aaron died of natural causes at the age of 86 in January. Hammerin’ Hank shattered numerous records on the field, but will be remembered as more than a baseball all-star.
At the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, a special exhibit has been getting a little more attention lately.
“We’re going to check out Hank Aaron, Chasing the Dream, which is our exhibit dedicated to the life and career of Henry Aaron,” said Baseball Hall of Fame Exhibitions and Collections Vice President Erik Strohl.
Strohl has worked at the Hall 23 years and has quite a few memories. Some include spending time with Aaron to secure artifacts for Aaron’s exhibit.
“I got to spend a lot of time with him. And, listening to him tell stories and just see who he was as a man, very humble. Very gracious, very kind,” he said.
More than 50 artifacts from the Hammer’s life are part of the third floor exhibit that opened in 2009. Aaron batted over .300 for his career, and it’s remarkable how many records he set in his 23-year career.
As for those records:
“When he retired, he had the most RBI, the most games played, the most at-bats, the most home runs, the most total bases, the most extra base hits,” said Strohl.
There weren’t many records Aaron didn’t break in his illustrious career, mostly with the Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves. Many believe he was the best overall player of all time.
“We’ve got more bats. 3,000th hit bat, 500th home run bat, 600th home run bat, and this is the uniform that he wore when he hit home run 715 to pass Babe Ruth,” said Strohl.
“I just remember an amazing ball player; a great ambassador for the game. I remember watching his home run on television,” said baseball fan John Mead.
However, greatness came with a price for Aaron, as he dealt with segregation strongholds his entire career. Although he garnered positive fan mail, he also received his share of hate mail as he approached Ruth’s record.
“Basically on the road the whole time, when you’re traveling, he isn’t going to stay with the team, he can’t stay at the same hotels, he can’t eat at the same restaurants, it’s gotta be very difficult. Not at all different from Jackie Robinson when he came up,” said Strohl.
But he would battle that adversity with grace and go on to break barriers. He was a strong civil rights advocate until his death.
“That’s the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor a civilian can receive, getting that from [President] Bush, and this is the Presidential Citizen’s Medal, the second highest honor a civilian can receive, and he received that from [President] Clinton,” Strohl said.
From his minor league days to his induction to the Hall of Fame, Hank Aaron will never be forgotten as a ball player. But, just as important, the overall person and the integrity he brought to the game will also be remembered forever.
Hank Aaron was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1982. Aaron and Babe Ruth are the only two individual players to whom the Hall of Fame has dedicated an entire exhibit.