Editing Hank Aaron (section)

===Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves (1954–1974)===
In 1954, Aaron attended spring training with the major league club. Although he was on the roster of its farm club, Milwaukee manager [[Charley Grimm]] later stated, "From the start, he did so well I knew we were going to have to carry him."<ref name="CB" /> On March 13, 1954, Milwaukee Braves left fielder [[Bobby Thomson]] fractured his [[ankle]] while [[slide (baseball)|sliding]] into [[second base]] during a [[spring training]] game. The next day, Aaron made his first spring training start for the Braves [[Major League Baseball|major league]] team, playing in left field and hitting a home run.<ref name="Allen" /> This led Aaron to a major league contract, signed on the final day of spring training, and a Braves uniform with the number five.<ref>[[#Bryant|Bryant]], p. 80.</ref> On April 13, he made his major league debut and was hitless in five at-bats against the [[Cincinnati Redlegs]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 13, 1954 |title=Milwaukee Braves vs Cincinnati Redlegs Box Score: April 13, 1954 |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CIN/CIN195404130.shtml |access-date=September 4, 2024 |website=[[Baseball Reference]] |language=en}}</ref> In the same game, [[Eddie Mathews]] hit two home runs, the first of a record 863 home runs the pair would hit as teammates. On April 15, Aaron collected his first major league hit, a double off [[St. Louis Cardinals]] pitcher [[Vic Raschi]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 15, 1954 |title=St. Louis Cardinals vs Milwaukee Braves Box Score: April 15, 1954 |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MLN/MLN195404150.shtml |access-date=September 4, 2024 |website=[[Baseball Reference]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Hank Aaron Timeline |url=http://www.755homeruns.com/timeline.shtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140820080515/http://755homeruns.com/timeline.shtml |archive-date=August 20, 2014 |access-date=October 29, 2014 |website=755 Home Runs}}</ref> Aaron hit his first major league home run on April 23, also off Raschi.<ref name="greatath" /> In 122 games, Aaron batted .280 with 13 home runs before he suffered a fractured ankle on September 5.<ref name="aaron-bbref" /> He then changed his number to 44, which would turn out to look like a "lucky number" for the slugger. Aaron would hit 44 home runs in four different seasons,<ref>[[#Bryant|Bryant]], p. 541.</ref> and he hit his record-breaking 715th career home run off Dodgers pitcher [[Al Downing (baseball)|Al Downing]], who coincidentally also wore number 44.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Huber |first1=Mike |title=April 8, 1974: Hank Aaron hammers historic 715th home run to break Babe Ruth's record |url=https://sabr.org/gamesproj/game/april-8-1974-hank-aaron-hammers-historic-715th-home-run-to-break-babe-ruths-record/ |website=[[Society for American Baseball Research]]}}</ref>

At this point, Aaron was known to family and friends primarily as "Henry". Braves' public relations director Don Davidson, observing Aaron's quiet, reserved nature, began referring to him publicly as "Hank" in order to suggest more accessibility. The nickname quickly gained currency, but "Henry" continued to be cited frequently in the media, both sometimes appearing in the same article, and Aaron would answer to either one. During his rookie year, his other well-known nicknames, "Hammerin' Hank" (by teammates) and "Bad Henry" (by opposing pitchers) are reported to have arisen.<ref>{{cite book |last=Musick |first=Phil |title=Hank Aaron, The Man Who Beat the Babe |date=1974 |publisher=[[Popular Library]] |edition=1st |asin=B0006W2Y7E}}</ref>

While living in Milwaukee, Aaron resided in the Prinz House in Historic Brewers Hill.

Considerably later in his career, Aaron coined "Stone-fingers", which would prove a popular handle for one of baseball's more colorful characters, the famously distance-hitting but defensively challenged first baseman [[Dick Stuart]],<ref>{{cite news |last=Kaese |first=Harold |date=August 16, 1963 |title=Stuart Ranks Next to Foxx; Sox' 2nd Best Righty Slugger |url=http://www.mediafire.com/view/gxvoz2n1u7ybwuj/.png |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801195456/http://www.mediafire.com/view/gxvoz2n1u7ybwuj/.png |archive-date=August 1, 2020 |access-date=August 23, 2019 |newspaper=[[The Boston Globe]] |via=[[MediaFire]]}}</ref> reportedly "delight[ing]" even its recipient.<ref>{{cite news |last=Nunn |first=Bill Jr. |date=November 9, 1963 |title=Change of Pace |url=http://www.mediafire.com/view/hnwe0k3obbarmq2/.png |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801134424/http://www.mediafire.com/view/hnwe0k3obbarmq2/.png |archive-date=August 1, 2020 |access-date=August 23, 2019 |work=[[Pittsburgh Courier]] |via=[[MediaFire]]}}</ref>

[[Sal Maglie]] recommended throwing low [[curveball]]s to Aaron. "He's going to swing and he'll go after almost anything," Maglie said of the Braves' slugger. "And he'll hit almost anything, so you have to be careful."<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Maglie|first=Sal|url=https://vault.si.com/vault/1957/10/14/braves-new-world|title=Braves' New World|magazine=[[Sports Illustrated]]|date=October 14, 1957}}</ref>

====Prime of his career====
[[File:Hank Aaron 1960.png|thumb|upright|Aaron with the Milwaukee Braves in 1960]]
Aaron hit .314 with 27 home runs and 106 RBI in 153 games in 1955. He was named to the NL All-Star roster for the first time; it was the first of a record 21 All-Star selections and first of a record 25 [[All-star game|All-Star Game]] appearances.<ref name="aaron-bbref" /> In 1956, Aaron hit .328 and captured the first of two NL batting titles. He was also named ''[[The Sporting News]]'' NL Player of the Year. In 1957, Aaron won his only NL MVP Award, as he had his first brush with the triple crown. He batted .322, placing third, and led the league in home runs and runs batted in.<ref name="aaron-bbref" /> On September 23, 1957, in Milwaukee, Aaron hit a two-run walk-off home run against the St. Louis Cardinals, clinching the pennant for the Braves. After touching home plate he was carried off the field by his teammates. It is as of yet the only pennant-clinching walk-off home run in major league history in a non-playoff regular-season game. Milwaukee went on to win the [[1957 World Series|World Series]] against the [[New York Yankees]], the defending champions, four games to three.<ref name="greatath" /> Aaron did his part by hitting .393 with three homers and seven RBIs. On December 15, 1957, his wife Barbara gave birth to twins.<ref name="CB2" /> Two days later, one of the children died.<ref name="CB2" /> In 1958, Aaron hit .326 with 30 home runs and 95 RBI in 153 games. He led the Braves to another pennant, but this time they lost a seven-game [[1958 World Series|World Series]] to the [[New York Yankees|Yankees]]. Aaron finished third in the MVP race and he received his first of three [[Gold Glove Award]]s.<ref name="aaron-bbref" /> During the next several years, Aaron had some of his best games and best seasons as a major league player. On June 21, 1959, against the [[San Francisco Giants]], he hit three two-run home runs. It was the only time in his career that he hit three home runs in a game.<ref>[[#Stanton|Stanton]], p. 142.</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Boxscore of Hank Aaron 3-Home Run Game At Retrosheet |url=https://retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1959/B06210SFN1959.htm |accessdate=December 21, 2023 |website=[[Retrosheet]]}}</ref>

In 1963, Aaron nearly won the [[Major League Baseball Triple Crown|triple crown]]. He led the league with 44 home runs and 130 RBI and finished third in [[batting average (baseball)|batting average]] (.319).{{efn|His average was .319, .007 behind the leader, [[Tommy Davis (outfielder)|Tommy Davis]].}} In that season, Aaron became the third player to [[30–30 club|hit 30 home runs and steal 30 bases]] in a single season, and the first player to record 40 home runs and 30 steals in a season.<ref name="aaron-bbref" /> He again finished third in [[Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award|National League MVP]] voting.<ref>{{Cite web |title=1963 Awards Voting |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/awards_1963.shtml |access-date=September 4, 2024 |website=[[Baseball Reference]] |language=en}}</ref> The Braves moved from [[Milwaukee]] to [[Atlanta]] after the 1965 season. On May 10, 1967, he hit an [[inside-the-park home run]] against [[Jim Bunning]] in [[Philadelphia]]. It was the only inside-the-park home run of his career.<ref>{{cite news |date=May 10, 2017 |title=This date in Braves history: Hank Aaron's only inside-the-park homer |url=https://www.ajc.com/sports/baseball/this-date-braves-history-hank-aaron-only-inside-the-park-homer/mqOXgoa9PWyCJth5R6SF0M/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180511081822/https://www.ajc.com/sports/baseball/this-date-braves-history-hank-aaron-only-inside-the-park-homer/mqOXgoa9PWyCJth5R6SF0M/ |archive-date=May 11, 2018 |work=[[The Atlanta Journal-Constitution]]}}</ref> In 1968, Aaron was the first Atlanta Braves player to hit his 500th career home run, and in 1970, he was the first Atlanta Brave to reach 3,000 career hits.<ref>{{cite web |last=Yuhasz |first=Dennis |year=2005 |title=Hank Aaron Biography |url=http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/hank_aaron_biography.shtml |website=[[Baseball Almanac]]}}</ref>

====Home run milestones and 3,000th hit====
[[File:Hank Aaron Braves Jersey signed.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Away jersey worn by Aaron during the 1968 or 1969 MLB season]]

During his days in Atlanta, Aaron reached several [[milestone]]s; he was only the eighth player ever to hit 500 career home runs, with his 500th coming against [[Mike McCormick (pitcher)|Mike McCormick]] of the [[San Francisco Giants]] on July 14, 1968—exactly one year after former Milwaukee Braves teammate [[Eddie Mathews]] had hit his 500th.<ref>{{cite web |title=500 Home Runs Club |url=https://www.baseball-almanac.com/hitting/hi500c.shtml |website=[[Baseball Almanac]]}}</ref> Aaron was, at the time, the second-youngest player to reach the milestone.{{efn|Aaron was 34 years, five months, and nine days old. [[Jimmie Foxx]] was the youngest to reach the mark at the time. Since then, [[Alex Rodriguez]] has become the youngest to reach this mark.}} On July 31, 1969, Aaron hit his 537th home run, passing [[Mickey Mantle]]'s total; this moved Aaron into third place on the career home run list, after [[Willie Mays]] and [[Babe Ruth]]. At the end of the 1969 season, Aaron again finished third in the MVP voting.<ref>{{cite web |title=1969 Awards Voting |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/awards_1969.shtml |website=[[Baseball Reference]]}}</ref>

In 1970, Aaron reached two more career milestones. On May 17, Aaron collected his 3,000th hit, in a game against the [[Cincinnati Reds]], the team against which he played in his first major-league game.<ref>[[#Stanton|Stanton]], p. 202.</ref> Aaron established the record for most seasons with thirty or more home runs in the National League. On April 27, 1971, Aaron hit his 600th career home run, the third major league player ever to do so.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gattie |first=Gordon J. |title=April 27, 1971: Hank Aaron hammers 600th career home run |url=https://sabr.org/gamesproj/game/april-27-1971-hank-aaron-hammers-600th-career-home-run/ |access-date=September 4, 2024 |website=[[Society for American Baseball Research]] |language=en-US}}</ref> On July 13, Aaron hit a home run in the [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star Game]] (played at Detroit's [[Tiger Stadium (Detroit)|Tiger Stadium]]) for the first time.<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 13, 1971 |title=1971 All-Star Game Box Score, July 13 |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/allstar/1971-allstar-game.shtml |access-date=September 4, 2024 |website=[[Baseball Reference]] |language=en}}</ref> He hit his 40th home run of the season against the [[San Francisco Giants|Giants]]' [[Jerry Johnson (baseball)|Jerry Johnson]] on September 10, which established a National League record for most seasons with 40 or more home runs (seven). At age 37, he hit a career-high 47 home runs during the season (along with a career-high .669 [[slugging percentage]]) and finished third in MVP voting for the sixth time.<ref name="aaron-bbref" /> During the strike-shortened season of 1972, Aaron tied and then surpassed Willie Mays for second place on the career home run list. Aaron also drove in the 2,000th run of his career and hit a home run in the first All-Star game played in Atlanta.<ref>{{cite web |title=1972 All-Star Game Box Score, July 25 |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/allstar/1972-allstar-game.shtml |website=[[Baseball Reference]]}}</ref> As the year came to a close, Aaron broke [[Stan Musial]]'s major-league record for total bases (6,134).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Schwartz |first1=Larry |title=Hank Aaron sets career total bases record |url=http://www.espn.com/classic/s/moment010903-aaron-totalbases.html |website=[[ESPN Classic]] |date=November 19, 2003}}</ref> He finished the season with 673 career home runs.<ref name="aaron-bbref" />

====Breaking Ruth's career home run record====
[[File:hank aaron jersey.jpg|thumb|upright|The Braves' jersey Hank Aaron wore when he broke [[Babe Ruth]]'s career home run record in 1974]]
Aaron himself downplayed the "chase" to surpass Babe Ruth, while baseball enthusiasts and the national media grew increasingly excited as he closed in on the 714 career home runs record. Aaron received thousands of letters every week during the summer of 1973, including hate mail; he ended up asking a secretary working for the Braves, [[Carla Koplin Cohn|Carla Koplin]], to help him sort through it.<ref>[[#Stanton|Stanton]], p. 62.</ref>

Aaron (then age 39) hit 40 home runs in 392 [[At bat|at-bats]], ending the 1973 season one home run short of the record. He hit home run number 713 on September 29, 1973, and with one day remaining in the season, many expected him to tie the record. But in his final game that year, playing against the [[Houston Astros]] (managed by [[Leo Durocher]], who had once roomed with Babe Ruth), he was unable to achieve this. After the game, Aaron said his only fear was that he might not live to see the [[1974 MLB season|1974 season]].<!-- The following sentence needs to be clarified or removed. Did Aaron speak of Clemente's death in this context?: [That statement wasn't just about the death threats: one year earlier, September 30, 1972, was the last day the legendary [[Roberto Clemente]] ever played, as he perished in the offseason.] --><ref>[[#Stanton|Stanton]], p. 179.</ref>

He was the recipient of [[death threat]]s and a large assortment of hate mail during the 1973–1974 [[offseason]] from people who did not want to see Aaron break Ruth's nearly [[wikt:sacrosanct|sacrosanct]] home run record.<ref>[[#Stanton|Stanton]], p. 64.</ref> The threats extended to those providing positive press coverage of Aaron. [[Lewis Grizzard]], then-executive sports editor of ''[[The Atlanta Journal]]'', reported receiving numerous phone calls calling journalists "nigger lovers" for covering Aaron's chase. While preparing the massive coverage of the home run record, Grizzard quietly had an obituary written, afraid that Aaron might be murdered.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bacon |first1=John U. |date=April 11, 2014 |title=Remembering the quiet dignity of baseball's Hank Aaron |url=https://www.michiganradio.org/sports/2014-04-11/remembering-the-quiet-dignity-of-baseballs-hank-aaron |work=[[Michigan Public]]}}</ref>

''[[Sports Illustrated]]'' pointedly summarized the [[racism|racist]] vitriol that Aaron was forced to endure:

{{blockquote|Is this to be the year in which Aaron, at the age of thirty-nine, takes a [[Extravehicular activity|moon walk]] above one of the most hallowed individual records in American sport...? Or will it be remembered as the season in which Aaron, the most dignified of athletes, was besieged with hate mail and trapped by the cobwebs and goblins that lurk in baseball's attic?<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Leggett|first=William|title=A Tortured Road to 715|date=May 28, 1973|magazine=[[Sports Illustrated]]|url=https://vault.si.com/vault/1973/05/28/a-tortured-road-to-715|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210412062952/https://vault.si.com/vault/1973/05/28/a-tortured-road-to-715|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 12, 2021}}</ref>}}

At the end of the 1973 season, Aaron received a plaque from the [[U.S. Postal Service]] for receiving more mail (930,000 pieces) than any person excluding politicians. Aaron received an outpouring of public support in response to the [[bigotry]]. In August 1973, ''[[Peanuts]]'' cartoonist [[Charles Schulz]] drew a series of strips in which [[Snoopy]] attempts to break Babe Ruth's record, only to be besieged with hate mail. In the strip published August 11, [[Lucy Van Pelt|Lucy]] remarked to Snoopy: "Hank Aaron is a great player{{nbsp}}... but you! If you break Babe Ruth's record, it'll be a disgrace!" Coincidentally, Snoopy was only one home run short of tying the record (and finished the season as such when Charlie Brown got picked off second base during Snoopy's last at-bat), and as it turned out, Aaron finished the [[1973 MLB season|1973 season]] one home run short of Ruth.<ref>{{cite book |last=Schulz |first=Charles M. |title=The Complete Peanuts, 1973–1974 |date=2009 |publisher=[[Fantagraphics]] |isbn=978-1606992869}}</ref> Babe Ruth's widow, [[Claire Merritt Hodgson|Claire]], denounced the racism and declared that her husband would have enthusiastically cheered Aaron's attempt at the record.<ref>[[#Stanton|Stanton]], p. 25.</ref> As the 1974 season began, Aaron's pursuit of the record caused a small controversy. The Braves opened the season on the road in [[Cincinnati]] with a three-game series against the [[Cincinnati Reds]]. Braves management wanted him to break the record in [[Atlanta]] and was therefore going to have Aaron sit out the first three games of the season. But [[Commissioner of Baseball|Baseball Commissioner]] [[Bowie Kuhn]] ruled that he had to play two games in the first series. He played two out of three and tied Babe Ruth's record on April 4, 1974, in his first at-bat on his first swing of the season—off Reds pitcher [[Jack Billingham]], but did not hit another home run in the series.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |year=2002 |title=Hank Aaron (born 1934) |encyclopedia=[[New Georgia Encyclopedia]] |publisher=[[University of Georgia Press]] |url=http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-739 |access-date=May 2, 2014 |last=Minter |first=A. Binford |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070507144509/http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-739 |archive-date=May 7, 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[File:Aaron 715.jpg|right|thumb|upright|The fence over which Aaron hit his 715th career home run displayed outside of Turner Field]]

The Braves returned to Atlanta, and on April 8, 1974, a crowd of 53,775 people showed up for the game—a Braves attendance record. The game was also broadcast nationally on [[NBC]]. In the fourth inning, Aaron hit home run number 715 off [[Los Angeles Dodgers]] pitcher [[Al Downing (baseball)|Al Downing]].<ref name="greatath" /> Although Dodgers outfielder [[Bill Buckner]] nearly went over the outfield fence trying to catch it, the ball flew into the Braves' [[bullpen]] and the First National Bank advertisement sign in left-center field, where [[relief pitcher]] [[Tom House]] caught it. While cannons were fired in celebration, two college students sprinted onto the field and jogged alongside Aaron for part of his circuit around the bases, temporarily startling him. As the fans cheered wildly, Aaron's parents ran onto the field as well. Afterwards, Aaron remarked how "I never knew my mother could hug so tight," though he later learned that Aaron's mother kept hugging him because she was worried someone could try to shoot Aaron, and she thought nobody would try to shoot him if she was hugging him. Braves announcer [[Milo Hamilton]], calling the game on [[WSB (AM)|WSB]] radio, described the scene as Aaron broke the record:

<blockquote>Henry Aaron, in the second inning, walked and scored. He's sittin' on 714. Here's the pitch by Downing. Swinging. There's a drive into left-center field. That ball is gonna be-eee{{nbsp}}... Outta here! It's gone! It's 715! There's a new home run champion of all time, and it's Henry Aaron! The fireworks are going. Henry Aaron is coming around third. His teammates are at home plate. And listen to this crowd!<ref>{{cite web |last=Justice |first=Richard |date=April 8, 2014 |title=Milo Hamilton made Hank Aaron's homer itself star of No. 715 call |url=http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article/atl/milo-hamilton-made-hank-aarons-homer-itself-star-of-no-715-call?ymd=20140408&content_id=71348312&vkey=news_atl |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140409083524/http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article/atl/milo-hamilton-made-hank-aarons-homer-itself-star-of-no-715-call?ymd=20140408&content_id=71348312&vkey=news_atl |archive-date=April 9, 2014 |access-date=May 13, 2014 |website=[[Atlanta Braves]] |publisher=[[MLB.com]]}}</ref></blockquote>

Meanwhile, Dodgers broadcaster [[Vin Scully]] addressed the racial tension—or apparent lack thereof—in his call of the home run:

{{blockquote|What a marvelous moment for baseball; what a marvelous moment for Atlanta and the state of Georgia; what a marvelous moment for the country and the world. A black man is getting a standing ovation in the Deep South for breaking a record of an all-time baseball idol. And it is a great moment for all of us, and particularly for Henry Aaron{{nbsp}}... And for the first time in a long time, that poker face in Aaron shows the tremendous strain and relief of what it must have been like to live with for the past several months.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvfYg_kNtTk&feature=search|via=[[YouTube]] |title=Vin Scully's Call of Hank Aaron's 715th Home Run |date=Mar 4, 2010|archive-date=July 24, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130724011920/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvfYg_kNtTk&feature=search|url-status=live}}</ref>}}