Hank Aaron

Henry Louis "Hank" Aaron, baseball player and member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, is best known for setting the record for most home runs in a career (755), surpassing the previous mark of 714 by Babe Ruth.

Born: February 5, 1934, Mobile, Alabama

Link to Hank Aaron's page in the Baseball Hall of Fame website

Aaron was a star outfielder with the Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves, a perennial All-Star, and the National League Most Valuable Player in 1957. In his career, he was selected to a record 24 All-Star Game appearances. He also won three Gold Glove Awards as an outfielder.

He and teammates Eddie Mathews and Warren Spahn led Milwaukee to pennants in 1957 and 1958 and defeated the New York Yankees in the 1957 World Series.

He played most of his prime in Milwaukee's County Stadium, which was a poor home-run park. When the team moved to Atlanta, Aaron's home run output actually increased. His hallmark was consistency: his best home run season was "only" 47 (in 1971), but he sustained high levels of production for over 20 years. This enabled him to approach the home run record in the early 1970s.

As a 39-year-old, Aaron hit exactly 40 home runs in 1973, ending the season with a career mark of 713. Over the winter, Aaron endured death threats and a barrage of hate mail from people who did not want to see a black man break Ruth's home run record. Aaron did just that, however, early in the 1974 season with a home run in Atlanta off Los Angeles pitcher Al Downing.