Editing Hank Aaron (section)

===Negro and minor leagues===
On November 20, 1951, baseball scout [[Ed Scott (baseball scout)|Ed Scott]] signed Aaron to a contract on behalf of the [[Indianapolis Clowns]] of the [[Negro American League]], where he played for three months.<ref>{{cite web |last=Blackwood |first=Kendrick |date=February 3, 2005 |title=Stealing Home |url=http://www.pitch.com/kansascity/stealing-home/Content?oid=2176530 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304055600/http://www.pitch.com/kansascity/stealing-home/Content?oid=2176530 |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |access-date=November 14, 2014 |website=[[The Pitch (newspaper)|The Pitch]]}}</ref>

He started play as a {{convert|6|ft|cm|abbr=on}}, {{convert|180|lb|kg|abbr=on}} shortstop, and earned $200 per month.<ref name="CB">{{cite encyclopedia |year=1958 |title=Aaron, Henry (Louis) |encyclopedia=Current Biography Yearbook |publisher=[[H. W. Wilson Company]] |location=New York |editor-last=Candee |editor-first=Marjorie Dent |edition=19th annual cumulation: 1958 |pages=3}}</ref> As a result of his standout play with the [[Indianapolis Clowns]], Aaron received two offers from MLB teams via [[telegram]], one from the [[New York Giants (baseball)|New York Giants]] and the other from the [[Boston Braves (baseball)|Boston Braves]]. Years later, Aaron remembered:

<blockquote>I had the Giants' contract in my hand. But the Braves offered fifty dollars a month more. That's the only thing that kept [[Willie Mays]] and me from being teammates&nbsp;– fifty dollars.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Castrovince |first1=Anthony |date=June 18, 2024 |title=The thing that stopped Aaron-Mays OF? $50 |url=https://www.mlb.com/news/hank-aaron-willie-mays-friends-nearly-teammates |website=[[MLB.com]] |publisher=[[MLB Advanced Media]]}}</ref></blockquote>

While with the Clowns he experienced [[Discrimination against African Americans|racism]]. Of a time his team was in [[Washington, D.C.]] Aaron recalled:
<blockquote>We had breakfast while we were waiting for the rain to stop, and I can still envision sitting with the Clowns in a restaurant behind Griffith Stadium and hearing them break all the plates in the kitchen after we finished eating. What a horrible sound. Even as a kid, the irony of it hit me: here we were in the capital in the land of freedom and equality, and they had to destroy the plates that had touched the forks that had been in the mouths of Black men. If dogs had eaten off those plates, they'd have washed them.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|last1=Schwarz|first1=Alan|last2=Thorn|first2=John|year=2004|encyclopedia=Total Baseball: The Ultimate Baseball Encyclopedia|isbn=1-894963-27-X|publisher=Sport Media Publishing Inc.|title=Hank Aaron|pages=818–820|chapter=From Babe to Mel – The Top 100 People in Baseball History}}</ref></blockquote>

The Howe Sports Bureau credits Aaron with a .366 [[batting average (baseball)|batting average]] in 26 official Negro league games, with five [[home run]]s, 33 [[run batted in|runs batted in]] (RBIs), 41 [[hit (baseball)|hits]], and nine [[stolen base]]s.<ref>[[#Vascellaro|Vascellaro]], p. 20.</ref>

The Braves purchased Aaron's contract from the Clowns for $10,000,<ref>[[#Bryant|Bryant]], p. 43.</ref> which GM [[John Quinn (baseball executive)|John Quinn]] thought was a steal, as he stated that he felt that Aaron was a $100,000 property.<ref name="CB" /> On June 12, 1952, Aaron signed with Braves' scout Dewey Griggs.<ref name="CB" /> During this time, he picked up the nickname "[[pork chop]]s" because it "was the only thing I knew to order off the menu".<ref>{{cite news |date=July 11, 1999 |title=Hank Aaron Visits Negro League Museum |url=http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/1999/07/11/bas_265377.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140503193944/http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/1999/07/11/bas_265377.shtml |archive-date=May 3, 2014 |access-date=November 22, 2013 |newspaper=[[The Augusta Chronicle]] |agency=[[Associated Press]]}}</ref> A teammate later said, "the man ate pork chops three meals a day, two for breakfast".<ref>{{cite book|last=Pollock|first=Alan J.|editor1-last=Riley|editor1-first=James A.|title=Barnstorming to Heaven: Syd Pollock and His Great Black Teams|date=2006|isbn=0817314954|publisher=University Alabama Press|url=https://archive.org/details/barnstormingtohe00poll |page=228}}</ref>

The Braves assigned Aaron to the [[Eau Claire Bears]], the Braves' [[Northern League (baseball, 1902–1971)|Northern League]] [[Class C (baseball)|Class-C]] [[farm team]].<ref name="greatath" /> The 1952 season proved to be very beneficial for Aaron. Playing in the [[infield]], Aaron continued to develop as a ballplayer and made the Northern League's All-Star team.<ref name="greatath" /> He broke his habit of hitting cross-handed and adopted the standard hitting technique. By the end of the season, he had performed so well that the league made him the unanimous choice for Rookie of the Year.<ref name="greatath" /> Although he appeared in just 87 games, he scored 89 [[run (baseball)|runs]], had 116 hits, nine home runs, and 61 RBI.<ref name="greatath" /> In addition, Aaron hit for a .336 batting average.<ref name="greatath" /> During his minor league experience, he was very homesick and faced constant racism, but his brother, Herbert Jr., told him not to give up the opportunity.

In 1953, the Braves promoted him to the [[Jacksonville Braves]], their Class-A affiliate in the [[South Atlantic League]].<ref name="greatath" /> Helped by Aaron's performance, the Braves won the league championship that year. Aaron led the league in runs (115), hits (208), [[double (baseball)|doubles]] (36), RBIs (125), total bases (338), and batting average (.362).<ref name="greatath" /> He won the league's [[Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award|Most Valuable Player]] Award,<ref name="greatath" /><ref name="Allen" /> and had such a dominant year that one [[sportswriter]] was prompted to say, "Henry Aaron led the league in everything except hotel accommodations."<ref name="Classic" /> Aaron's time with the Braves did not come without problems. He was one of the first [[Black Americans]] to play in the league.<ref>[[#Bryant|Bryant]], p. 50.</ref> The 1950s were a period of [[racial segregation]] in parts of the United States, especially the southeastern portion of the country. When Aaron traveled around [[Jacksonville, Florida]], and the surrounding areas, he was often separated from his team because of [[Jim Crow laws]]. In most circumstances, the team was responsible for arranging housing and meals for its players, but Aaron often had to make his own arrangements.<ref>{{cite web |last=Monestime |first=Ronald |date=February 6, 2011 |title=This Day in Black Sports History: February 5, 1934 |url=http://bleacherreport.com/articles/599197-this-day-in-black-sports-history-february-5-1934 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141225144653/http://bleacherreport.com/articles/599197-this-day-in-black-sports-history-february-5-1934 |archive-date=December 25, 2014 |access-date=November 14, 2014 |website=[[Bleacher Report]]}}</ref> The Braves' manager, [[Ben Geraghty]], tried his best to help Aaron on and off the field. Former Braves minor league player and sportswriter [[Pat Jordan (author)|Pat Jordan]] said, "Aaron gave [Geraghty] much of the credit for his own swift rise to stardom."<ref>{{cite book |last=Jordan |first=Pat |title=A False Spring |date=2005 |publisher=[[University of Nebraska Press|Bison Books]] |isbn=978-0803276260 |location=New York |page=196 |orig-date=1975}}</ref>

That same year, Aaron met his future wife, Barbara Lucas. The night they met, Lucas decided to attend the Braves' game. Aaron singled, doubled, and hit a home run in the game. On October 6, Aaron and Lucas married.<ref name="CB2">{{cite encyclopedia |year=1958 |title=Aaron, Henry (Louis) |encyclopedia=Current Biography Yearbook |publisher=[[H. W. Wilson Company]] |location=New York |editor-last=Candee |editor-first=Marjorie Dent |edition=19th annual cumulation: 1958 |pages=4}}</ref> In 1958, Aaron's wife noted that during the off-season he liked "to sit and watch those shooting westerns". He also enjoyed cooking and fishing.<ref name="CB2" />

Aaron spent the winter of 1953 playing in [[Puerto Rico]]. [[Mickey Owen]], the team's manager, helped Aaron with his batting stance. Until then, Aaron had hit most pitches to left field or center field, but after working with Owen, Aaron was able to hit the ball more effectively all over the [[Baseball field|field]]. During his stay in Puerto Rico, Owen also helped Aaron transition from second base to the outfield. Aaron had not played well at second base, but Owen noted that Aaron could catch fly balls and throw them well from the outfield to the infield.<ref name="Vascellaro 47–48">[[#Vascellaro|Vascellaro]], pp. 47–48.</ref>

The stint in Puerto Rico also allowed Aaron to avoid being drafted into military service. Though the [[Korean War]] was over, people were still being drafted. The Braves were able to speak to the [[draft board]], making the case that Aaron could be the player to integrate the [[Southern Association]] the following season with the [[Atlanta Crackers]]. The board appears to have been convinced, as Aaron was not drafted.<ref name="Vascellaro 47–48" />