Henry “Hank” Aaron was born on this day in 1934. He became a Major League Baseball player in 1954 and played in a remarkable career all the way until 1976. “Hammerin’ Hank” is best known for breaking Babe Ruth’s all-time home run record, surpassing the Babe’s 714 in 1974. Hank Aaron would finish in 1976 with 755 home runs. Many people consider that Aaron’s mark is still the legitimate record, as it would be broken in recent years under the cloud of steroid use and accusations of cheating with PEDs. More impressive is that Aaron displayed such tremendous skills for so long, and in the face of some horrific hate and threats of violence. As Aaron approached Babe Ruth’s record, he faced an increasing number of messages of hate and threats to his life by racists who couldn’t accept that a black man was accomplishing such a feat. Aaron faced the hate with courage and grace. For more on Hank Aaron:
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