- Aaron, Hank
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byname of Henry Louis Aaronborn Feb. 5, 1934, Mobile, Ala., U.S.U.S. baseball player, one of the greatest in professional baseball.After playing briefly in the Negro leagues and then in the minor leagues, Aaron was moved up to the majors as an outfielder with the Milwaukee Braves in 1954. By the time the Braves moved to Atlanta, Ga., in 1965, Aaron had hit 398 home runs; in 1974 he hit his 715th, breaking Babe Ruth's record. He played his final two seasons (1975–76) with the Milwaukee Brewers. Aaron's records for career home runs (755), extra-base hits (1,477), and runs batted in (2,297) remain unbroken, and only Ty Cobb and Pete Rose exceed him in career hits (3,771). Aaron is renowned as one of the greatest hitters of all time.
Hank Aaron.Pictorial Parade* * *
▪ American athlete and executivebyname of Henry Louis Aaronborn February 5, 1934, Mobile, Alabama, U.S.American professional baseball player who, during 23 seasons in the major leagues (1954–76), surpassed batting records set by some of the greatest hitters in the game, including Babe Ruth (Ruth, Babe), Ty Cobb (Cobb, Ty), and Stan Musial (Musial, Stan).Aaron, a right-hander, began his professional career in 1952, playing shortstop for a few months with the Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro American League (Negro league). His contract was bought by the Boston Braves (Atlanta Braves) of the National League, who assigned him to minor league teams. In 1954 he moved up to the majors, playing mostly as an outfielder for the Braves (who had moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1953). In 1956 he won the league batting championship with an average of .328, and in 1957, having led his team to victory in the World Series, he was named the league's Most Valuable Player. By the time the Braves moved to Atlanta, Georgia, at the end of 1965, Aaron had hit 398 home runs. In Atlanta on April 8, 1974, he hit his 715th, breaking Babe Ruth's record, which had stood since 1935. After the 1974 season, Aaron was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers, who were at that time in the American League. Aaron retired after the 1976 season and rejoined the Atlanta Braves as an executive. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on January 13, 1982.Aaron's batting records include totals of 1,477 extra-base hits and 2,297 runs batted in. His home run record of 755 was broken by Barry Bonds (Bonds, Barry) in 2007. Aaron's other career statistics include 2,174 runs scored (second to Ty Cobb) and 12,364 times at bat in 3,298 games (second to Pete Rose). His hits (3,771) were exceeded only by those of Ty Cobb and Pete Rose. Aaron's lifetime batting average was .305.Additional ReadingFor coverage of Aaron's home-run race, see George Plimpton, One for the Record: The Inside Story of Hank Aaron's Chase for the Home-Run Record (1974). Autobiographies include Hank Aaron and Dick Schaap, Home Run: My Life in Pictures (1999); and Hank Aaron and Lonnie Wheeler, I Had a Hammer: The Hank Aaron Story (1991).* * *
Universalium. 2010.
