Hank Aaron, baseball's one-time home run king, dies at 86

I know sports is just a game but I thought Aaron was amazing individual. He produced at a high clip year after year. Classy guy too.

RIP to the king! I got his autograph when I was a kid at a baseball card show along with Willie Mays. Though they played before I was born, as a baseball fanatic, they were gods to me.

Aw thats too bad. We’ve lost so many baseball legends over the pastyear - Bob Gibson, Tom Seaver, Lou Brock, Don Sutton - its sad to see the king added to the list.

I got his autograph at a card show too, in 1992.

RIP to one of the greatest. He has left a lasting impact on and off the field.

Aaron hit .372 with 7 homers and a .664 slugging average in 163 career ABs against Sandy Koufax.

All you need to know.

So unbelievably under-appreciated.

many consider Aaron the true home-run king because of steroid allegations

+1

The era before steroids and weight-training became widespread is probably the purest in terms of being representative of actual sports ability. Aaron, being 6 foot and 180, shows just how talented the guy was. Bonds at 6 foot 1 went from 185 to 220 with his steroid routine. Not to mention the advanced training methods that had been developed by his time.

Saw him play for Atlanta against St Louis in the late 60's or early 70's - 6 hall of famers in that game, including Aaron, Roberto Clemente, Bob Gibson and Phil Niekro.

All of those guys in one game. Amazing!

Saw him play for Atlanta against St Louis in the late 60's or early 70's - 6 hall of famers in that game, including Aaron, Roberto Clemente, Bob Gibson and Phil Niekro.

Its sad that 3 of those 4 guys have passed within the past few months (and sadder that the fourth died way younger).

Nine voters in 1982 did not vote for him to enter the Hall of Fame. It is hard to believe that someone with the homerun title and his many other records would not be unanimous. The choices are that either some voters knew he was such a sure thing that they spent their votes on someone else, or else that they were racist.

Hank didn't even play high school baseball because the high schools he grew up in poor Alabama won't accept black players

He played for the Milwaukee Braves to escape the racism of the Deep South, but when the Braves moved to Atlanta, he was back there again. When he was about to beat Babe Ruth's total homerun record, he received thousands of death threats that the FBI got involved. Yet he didn't let all that hate make him a bitter man. And the people in the stadium all cheered for him

In the visiting radio booth, renowned Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully put the home run in context: “What a marvelous moment for baseball. What a marvelous moment for Atlanta and the state of Georgia. What a marvelous moment for the country and the world. A Black man is getting a standing ovation in the Deep South for breaking a record of an all-time baseball idol. And it is a great moment for all of us and particularly for Henry Aaron.”

(Among those who congratulated Mr. Aaron in a ceremony on the field after the home run was Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter, the future president. But Kuhn, the baseball commissioner, was not present. Mr. Aaron never forgot the slight.)

Yet for a homerun king, he's arguable underrated. He played for smaller market teams, never hit 50 HRs in a single season, wasn't flashy nor known for eye-popping HRs. But even if ya substract all his 755 HRs, he still has more than 3,000 hits. HIs total bases distance is 12 miles farther than the guy in 2nd place (Stan Musial)

More significantly to him, being a civil rights activist on and off the field. He didn't just shut up and play. He even lobbied that if any colored person was going to be allowed running a team, it may as well be him

RIP Hammerin' Hank

MocheakeJan. 23  09:43 am JST

RIP to one of the greatest. He has left a lasting impact on and off the field.

I remember him and his fame from my elementary school days. The 'Oh, Henry!' candy bar was named after him.

Sal AffistJan. 23  07:24 pm JST

Nine voters in 1982 did not vote for him to enter the Hall of Fame. It is hard to believe that someone with the homerun title and his many other records would not be unanimous. The choices are that either some voters knew he was such a sure thing that they spent their votes on someone else, or else that they were racist.

That's a sad pity if it's true. Years after he broke the home run record Hank said he got a racist death threat on the phone the evening before that history-making game. Fortunately, he didn't let that stop him from doing it. Thing is, even now there is racism in baseball.

RIP HANK, CHAMPION!!!!

One of the greatest of all time. I’ll take him over Barry (steroid) Bonds any day.  But did people miss this?

Aaron made his last public appearance just 2 1/2 weeks ago, when he received the COVID-19 vaccine. He said he wanted to help spread the word to Black Americans that the vaccine is safe.

His untimely death may make people think twice about getting the vaccine. This certainly is not great press for the safety of the vaccine.  But then again, at age 86, maybe it was his time.  It makes one think that when very elderly people pass away and covid is declared as the reason, was it really the cause?  I heard that hospitals, etc. that declare someone died of covid is given extra funds from the government as opposed to a non covid death. Maybe this is sort of a danger pay type situation for the hospital staff. In any case, it does make one wonder if all covid related deaths are actually covid related. 

On April 8, 1974, before a sellout crowd at Atlanta Stadium and a national television audience, Aaron broke Ruth’s home run record with No. 715 off Al Downing of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

I remember seeing this on TV.  It is probably not the notoriety that Al Downing wished for in his career. However, he was a great pitcher, too.