Forgotten Hollywood

Manny P. here…

“`With last week’s passing of former Los Angeles Dodger Don Sutton, we have lost another legend of Major League Baseball. Hank Aaron played for the Milwaukee Braves and stayed with the team when they moved to Atlanta. He shattered Babe Ruth’s Home Run record. Aaron was never bitter on the hardship that he faced; from the poverty and segregation of his Alabama youth, to the racism he experienced while chasing baseball’s most hallowed record.              HANK AARON –>

“`Henry Louis Aaron was born in Mobile, Alabama and heads a long list of outstanding players who came from that Gulf Coast city — Satchel Paige, Willie McCovey, Billy Williams, and Ozzie Smith. Aaron was spotted by the Braves while trying out for the Indianapolis Clowns, a Negro Leagues team. He became National League MVP in 1957, when the Braves beat the New York Yankees in seven games to give Aaron the only World Series title of his career. It also was his lone MVP award.

“`Before a sellout crowd at Atlanta Stadium, and nationwide television audience, Aaron broke Ruth’s home run record with No. 715 off Al Downing of the Dodgers. Vin Scully was one of the announcers that called the historic game.  Aaron’s career total was surpassed by Barry Bonds in 2007. His journey to Ruth’s mark was hardly pleasant. He was the target of extensive hate mail as he closed in on the record. Aaron was shadowed constantly by bodyguards and forced to distance himself from teammates.

“`Let us not forget about his lifetime .300 average, or the graceful way he fielded his position, or the speed he showed on the base paths. He finished his career back in Milwaukee, traded to the Brewers after the 1974 season, when he refused to take a front-office job that would have required a big pay cut.

“`After retiring in 1976, Aaron became a revered figure, even though he never pursued the spotlight. He would spend a couple of decades as part of the Atlanta Braves front office. He was elected to Cooperstown in 1982, his first year of eligibility, and just nine votes short of being the first unanimous choice ever to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

“`George W. Bush, a one-time owner of the Texas Rangers, presented Aaron in 2002 with the Presidential Medal of Freedom — the nation’s highest civilian honor. Just two weeks before his passing, Aaron joined civil rights icons to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. He wanted to spread the word to the Black community that shots were safe in the midst of a devastating pandemic.

“`He was not hesitant about speaking out on issues of the day, whether bemoaning the lack of Blacks in management positions in Major League Baseball,  or lobbying against the addition of Pete Rose in Cooperstown,  or calling for those involved in the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal to be tossed from the game for good.

“`Hank Aaron was eighty-six.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

This entry was posted on Friday, January 22nd, 2021 at 6:13 pm and is filed under Blog by Manny Pacheco. You can follow any comments to this post through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Bookmark this post: