| BALL MANUFACTURER: Rawlings BALL TYPE: Official National League PRESIDENT'S STAMP: Leonard Coleman BALL PRODUCTION DATES: 1995-99 COMMENTS / CONDITION: The ball itself exhibits some toning, but the signature remains bold and dark. As with all of my signed items, the signature is guaranteed to pass inspection by any major authenticator, or your money back. See photos for signature quality and ball condition. This ball will ship in an acrylic display holder. Combined shipping is available for multiple ball purchases. BIO: Henry Louis Aaron (Hammer, Hammerin' Hank or Bad Henry) was born in 1934 in Mobile, AL. He played major league baseball from 1954 to 1976 as outfielder for the Milwaukee Braves, Atlanta Braves and the Milwaukee Brewers, appeared in the 1957 and 1958 World Series, was selected 21 times as an All-Star, and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982. Aaron's minor league career began on November 20, 1951, baseball scout Ed Scott signed Aaron to a contract on behalf of the Indianapolis Clowns. After relocating to Indianapolis, 18-year-old Aaron helped the Clowns win the 1952 Negro League World Series. As a result of his standout play, Aaron received two telegram offers from MLB teams. One offer was from the New York Giants and the other from the Boston Braves (who would move to Milwaukee the following year). Aaron elected to play for the Braves, who purchased him from the Clowns for $10,000. On June 14, 1952, Aaron signed with Braves' scout Dewey Griggs. During this time, he picked up the nickname "pork chops" for eating strictly pork chops and French fries while traveling with his team. In 1952, the Braves assigned Aaron to the Eau Claire Bears, the Braves' Northern League Class-C farm team. In 1953, the Braves promoted him to the Jacksonville Tars, their Class-A affiliate in the South Atlantic League. He won the league's Most Valuable Player Award and had such a dominant year that one sportswriter was prompted to say, "Henry Aaron led the league everything except hotel accommodations." He was one of the first five African Americans to play in the league. The 1950s were a period of racial segregation in the United States, especially in 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; Aaron often had to make his own arrangements. Before being promoted to the Major League team, Aaron spent the winter of 1953 playing in Puerto Rico. On March 13, 1954, Milwaukee Braves left fielder Bobby Thomson broke his ankle while sliding into second base during a spring training game. The next day, Aaron made his first spring training start for the Braves' major league team, playing in left field and hitting a home run. This led Hank Aaron to a major league contract and a Braves uniform with the number five. On April 13, 1954, Aaron made his major league debut and went 0-for-5 against the Cincinnati Reds' Joe Nuxhall. He was the 1957 National League MVP, and won Gold Glove Awards in 1958, 1959 and 1960. In 1999, editors at The Sporting News ranked Hank Aaron 5th on their list of "Greatest Baseball Players." That same year, baseball fans named Aaron to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. Although Aaron himself downplayed the "chase" to surpass Babe Ruth, baseball enthusiasts and the national media grew increasingly excited as he closed in on the home run record. During the summer of 1973 Aaron received thousands of letters every week; the Braves ended up hiring a secretary to help him sort through it. 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 (led by manager Leo Durocher, who had once roomed with Babe Ruth), he was unable to hit one out of the park. After the game, Aaron stated that his only fear was that he might not live to see the 1974 season. Over the winter, Aaron was the recipient of death threats and a large assortment of hate mail from people who did not want to see a black man break Ruth's nearly sacrosanct home run record. Aaron received an outpouring of public support in response to the bigotry. Babe Ruth's widow, Claire Hodgson, even denounced the racism and declared that her husband would have enthusiastically cheered Aaron's attempt at the record. As the 1974 season began, Aaron's pursuit of the home run record caused a small controversy. The Braves opened the season on the road in Cincinnati with a three game series against the Reds. Braves management wanted him to break the record in Atlanta, and were therefore going to have Aaron sit out the first three games of the season. But Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn ruled that he had to play two games in the first series. He played two out of three, tying Babe Ruth's record in his very first at bat off Reds pitcher Jack Billingham, but did not hit another home run in the series. The fence over which Hank Aaron hit his 715th career home run still exists outside of Turner Field.The team returned to Atlanta, and on April 8, 1974, a crowd of 53,775 people showed up for the game — a Braves attendance record. In the 4th inning, Aaron hit career home run number 715 off L.A. Dodgers pitcher Al Downing. Although Dodgers outfielder Bill Buckner nearly went over the outfield wall trying to catch it, the ball landed in the Braves bullpen, where relief pitcher Tom House caught it. While cannons were fired in celebration, two white college students sprinted onto the field and jogged alongside Aaron as he circled the base paths. As the fans cheered wildly, Aaron's mother ran onto the field as well. A few months later, on October 5, 1974, Aaron hit his 733rd and final home run as a Brave, which stood as the National League's home run record until it was broken by Barry Bonds in 2006. May 1, 1975, Aaron broke baseball's all-time RBI record, previously held by Ruth with 2,217. On August 1, 1982 Hank Aaron was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, having received votes on 97.8 percent of the ballots, second to only Ty Cobb, who had received votes on 98.2% of the ballot in the inaugural 1936 Hall of Fame election. Aaron was then named the Braves' vice president and director of player development. This made him one of the first minorities in Major League Baseball upper-level management. Since December 1989, he has served as senior vice president and assistant to the Braves' president. He is the corporate vice president of community relations for TBS, a member of the company's board of directors and the vice president of business development for The Airport Network. On February 5, 1999, at his 65th birthday celebration, Major League Baseball announced the introduction of the Hank Aaron Award. The award was set to honor the best overall offensive performer in the American and National League. It was the first major award to be introduced in more than thirty years and it was also the first award named after a player who was still alive. Later that year, he ranked number 5 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players,[38] and was elected to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. In June 2002, Aaron received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor. His autobiography I Had a Hammer was published in 1990. Statues of Aaron stand outside the front entrance of both Turner Field and Miller Park. There is also a statue of him as an 18-year-old shortstop outside of Carson Park in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, where he played his first season in the Braves' minor league system. SKU: BB0656
Item: BB0656
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