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RIP Hank Aaron

Mr. Scot

By Mr. Scot,
in Carolina Panthers

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Mr. Scot Grand Master

Mr. Scot

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8 minutes ago, Sgt Schultz said:

I am lucky enough to be old enough to have seen him hit #715 on TV.  One of those moments in sports that you never forget.

I agree, Scot, he will always be the home run king in my mind.  He was a class act.  He exemplified the rare quality of humility.

RIP. 

Guys like Bonds, McGwire and Sosa did it with steroids and favorable conditions.

Babe Ruth did it with beer and cheeseburgers.

Hank Aaron did it with character and will.

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MHS831 Grand Master

MHS831

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True Story--when I was a little kid, my Dad took me to see Atlanta and the Dodgers play a series in Atlanta.  I saw Aaron hit homer #726.  During the game, he was running in from outfield and I went down to the seats by the dugout and yelled "Hank Aaron!" and he looked at me--I was waving at him; he waved back and kind of smiled.   That night, I was bored so I was riding the elevators and running around the hotel, the gift shop, the pool, etc. I was walking down the hallway by the dining area, and two men in suits were walking slowly toward the dining room, closed for a banquet. Between them was an old woman that I recognized from TV earlier that day.  I said, "Hello Mrs. Ruth," and she smiled and waved.  I walked on by, not thinking it was a big deal that in one day, Hank Aaron and Mrs. Babe Ruth waved at me.  

 

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ladypanther Grand Master

ladypanther

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/hank-aaron-dead/2021/01/22/2d11719a-5cc6-11eb-b8bd-ee36b1cd18bf_story.html

 

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After hitting 40 home runs in 1973, Mr. Aaron had a career total of 713, one shy of Ruth’s record. Each home run seemed to come at a deep personal cost.

 
 

Since 1972, the U.S. Postal Service noted at the time, Mr. Aaron had received more mail than anyone who was not a political figure. Much of it was filled with racism and vile language.

Some of the contents were released to the public. “If you come close to Babe Ruth’s 714 homers,” one letter said, “I have a contract out on you. Over 700, and you can consider yourself punctured with a .22 shell.” Another read, “My gun is watching your every black move.”

A security team accompanied Mr. Aaron at all times, his daughter received police protection while attending college, and the FBI looked into some of the more extreme threats. Mr. Aaron kept the letters as a reminder of his lonely, dangerous pursuit.

 

“The Ruth chase should have been the greatest period of my life, and it was the worst,” Mr. Aaron wrote in his 1991 autobiography, “I Had a Hammer.” “I couldn’t believe there was so much hatred in people. It’s something I’m still trying to get over, and maybe I never will.”

 

 

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BigAggieLean. Newbie

BigAggieLean.

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RIP to a legend. Got a chance to meet him at a Braves game at the new Truist park. He looked healthy for an 80 something years old.  
 

Whenever I go see my parents in Mississippi, I always drive by Hank Aaron stadium in Mobile, AL. A legend, from the small city of Mobile, AL. I admire how he preserved through all the hate and controversy of the times.

 I grew up in a Braves household. My pop used to always tell me how Hank was the true home run king.

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