Hank Aaron was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982, eight
years after ending his career with in 1976.

Born in Mobile, Alabama in
1934, Aaron began his league years with the Negro League’s Indianapolis Clowns
at age 18. He played in two World Series (1957 and 1958) with the Milwaukee
Braves and went on to play for the Atlanta Braves from 1966 to 1974 and the
Milwaukee Brewers from 1975 to 1976.

While he’s best known for breaking
Babe Ruth’s homerun record with 715, as well as for being the last of the Negro
Leaguers to play for the Majors, he’s also made great strides in business since
retirement. One of the first blacks in MLB upper level management, Aaron serves
as Atlanta’s vice president of player development. He has also served as the
corporate vice president of community relations for Turner Broadcasting, as well
as a member of TBS’ board of directors.

Even so, Aaron was quoted in an
ESPN interview with Larry Schwartz as saying that he still receives hate mail
related to breaking Babe Ruth’s home run record. At its height, the mail reached
approximately 3,000 letters per day, rife with death threats, racial slurs and
other sundry insults. That he still receives the mail now is extremely
unsettling to this writer, as well as to Aaron himself, who says, “I read the
letters because they remind me not to be surprised or hurt. They remind me what
people are really like.”

He currently holds the records for most runs
(2,297), total bases (6,856) and extra base hits (2,297). He ranks second in
at-bats with 12,364, and is the only player to hit at least 30 homers in 15
seasons at at least 20 in 20 seasons. He played in 24 All-Star games.

Accompanying this article are several cards and collectibles bearing
Aaron’s likeness. Do you own any or all? Let us know.