Henry Aaron posing for a photo with WRN Brewers reporter Jeff Miller.
Wisconsin lost another one of its all-time great sports legends when Hank Aaron passed away in Atlanta at the age of 86.
Aaron debuted with the Milwaukee Braves in 1954 at the age of 20. He played 21 seasons for the Braves in Milwaukee and Atlanta. He returned to Milwaukee ton finish out his career with the Brewers in 1975-76.
In 1957, Aaron was named the National League’s MVP. His two-run home run off of St. Louis’ Billy Moffett in the bottom of the 11th clinched the pennant and sent the Braves to the World Series, where they beat the New York Yankees in seven games.
Aaron passed Babe Ruth’s home run mark of 714 in 1974. Number 715 came off of Dodgers lefty Al Downing, during a game in Atlanta. That would be Aaron’s final season with the Braves.
His return to Milwaukee helped the Brewers set a club record for attendance. He finished out his career with 755 home runs.
Aaron made 21 all-star appearances and won three Gold Gloves for his play in right field. His home run record was eventually topped in 2007 by San Francisco’s Barry Bonds, who finished with 762 for his career.
Aaron is the only player to hit at least 30 home runs in 15 seasons. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, having received 97.8% of the votes cast by baseball writers in 1982.
The Atlanta Braves made Aaron a vice president and director of player development.