Hank Aaron Fast Facts kvia.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from kvia.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
January 22, 2021
FILE - Atlanta Braves Hank Aaron smiles during a press conference at Atlanta Stadium, Ga., after the game in which he hit his 715th career home, in this April 8, 1974, file photo. (AP Photo/File)
ATLANTA (AP) Hank Aaron, who endured racist threats with stoic dignity during his pursuit of Babe Ruth’s home run record and gracefully left his mark as one of baseball’s greatest all-around players, died Friday. He was 86.
The Atlanta Braves, Aaron’s longtime team, said he died peacefully in his sleep. No cause was given.
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 was safe.
Hall of Famer Hank Aaron dies at 86
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A cause of death was not announced.
The Hall of Fame outfielder and one-time home run king passed away Friday morning.
Aaron was a native of Alabama whose career began in the Negro Leagues, but quickly took him to the Majors, where he landed with the Milwaukee Braves.
He soon made his mark as one of the most dangerous power hitters in baseball.
Aaron finished his career with a record 755 homers, a stat so impressive it has been bested by only one player, Barry Bonds, who finished his career with 762 – though that record has come under a cloud of steroid-use allegations.
Paul Newberry
A baseball left by a fan rests in a growing memorial Friday, Jan. 22, 2021, in Atlanta, near the spot where a ball hit for home run by Atlanta Braves Hank Aaron cleared the wall to break Babe Ruth s home run record in 1974. Aaron, who endured racist threats with stoic dignity during his pursuit of Babe Ruth but went on to break the career home run record in the pre-steroids era, died peacefully in his sleep early Friday. He was 86. (AP Photo/John Bazemore) January 22, 2021 - 6:47 PM
ATLANTA - His name is all over the baseball record book and, indeed, Hank Aaron could do it all.
Hank Aaron death: Braves great who became voice for civil rights dies at 86 washingtonpost.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from washingtonpost.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.