ATLANTA (AP) His name is all over the baseball record book and, indeed, Hank Aaron could do it all.
Sure, he s remembered mostly for dethroning the Babe to become baseball s home run king on the way to 755, but don t forget about the .300 average, or the graceful way he fielded his position, or the deceiving speed he showed on the basepaths.
Yet, when talking about the true measure of the man, there was far more to “Hammerin’ Hank” than his brilliance between the lines.
Exuding grace and dignity, Aaron spoke bluntly but never bitterly on the many hardships thrown his way from the poverty and segregation of his Alabama youth to the ugly, racist threats he faced during his pursuit of one of America s most hallowed records.
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Anna Beth Thomas and Sarah Beth McCarter, resource teachers at Itawamba Agricultural High School, open one of 60 buckets of cleaning supplies dropped off at the school by Home Depot on Thursday morning in Fulton. Home Depot gave several area schools that received grants the buckets packed with cleaning supplies for the teachers to have in their classrooms.
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Adam Robison | BUY AT PHOTOS.DJOURNAL.COM
Adam Robison | BUY AT PHOTOS.DJOURNAL.COM
Franki Walker, a cashier at Home Depot in Saltillo, and LaToya Fields, Pro Sales Supervisor and Team Depot Captain, plan out their next move as they work together volunteering their on their day off to pack cleaning supplies into five gallon buckets for area schools as part of #operation surprise on Wednesday morning.
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.
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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.