Hank Aaron Marquee Hall of Fame 1982

b. February 5, 1934 · Milwaukee Braves 1954–1965, Atlanta Braves 1966–1974, Milwaukee Brewers 1975–1976

Hank Aaron hit 755 home runs and drove in 2,297 runs, which is still the record, across 23 seasons and 3,771 hits. He was never the most conspicuous player of his era, having 40-home-run seasons rather than 50-home-run ones, and he simply did not stop.

As he closed on Ruth's 714 through 1973 the mail turned. He received death threats and racist abuse in enough volume that the Braves gave him a bodyguard and the post office assigned staff to his correspondence. He finished 1973 one short, waited out the winter, and hit number 715 on April 8, 1974.

He moved to Milwaukee as a designated hitter for two final seasons and retired after 1976, then spent decades in the Braves' front office. The Hall of Fame elected him in 1982.

Honors

Award	Times	Years
All-Star selection	21	1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975
The Sporting News All-Star	9	1956, 1958, 1959, 1963, 1965, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1971
Gold Glove	3	1958, 1959, 1960
Player of the Week	2	1973, 1974
The Sporting News Player of the Year	2	1956, 1963
Lou Gehrig Memorial Award	1	1970
Most Valuable Player	1	1957

Batting, season by season

Year	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	AVG
1954	MLN	122	468	58	131	27	6	13	69	28	39	2	.280
1955	MLN	153	602	105	189	37	9	27	106	49	61	3	.314
1956	MLN	153	609	106	200	34	14	26	92	37	54	2	.328
1957	MLN	151	615	118	198	27	6	44	132	57	58	1	.322
1958	MLN	153	601	109	196	34	4	30	95	59	49	4	.326
1959	MLN	154	629	116	223	46	7	39	123	51	54	8	.355
1960	MLN	153	590	102	172	20	11	40	126	60	63	16	.292
1961	MLN	155	603	115	197	39	10	34	120	56	64	21	.327
1962	MLN	156	592	127	191	28	6	45	128	66	73	15	.323
1963	MLN	161	631	121	201	29	4	44	130	78	94	31	.319
1964	MLN	145	570	103	187	30	2	24	95	62	46	22	.328
1965	MLN	150	570	109	181	40	1	32	89	60	81	24	.318
1966	ATL	158	603	117	168	23	1	44	127	76	96	21	.279
1967	ATL	155	600	113	184	37	3	39	109	63	97	17	.307
1968	ATL	160	606	84	174	33	4	29	86	64	62	28	.287
1969	ATL	147	547	100	164	30	3	44	97	87	47	9	.300
1970	ATL	150	516	103	154	26	1	38	118	74	63	9	.298
1971	ATL	139	495	95	162	22	3	47	118	71	58	1	.327
1972	ATL	129	449	75	119	10	0	34	77	92	55	4	.265
1973	ATL	120	392	84	118	12	1	40	96	68	51	1	.301
1974	ATL	112	340	47	91	16	0	20	69	39	29	1	.268
1975	MIL	137	465	45	109	16	2	12	60	70	51	0	.234
1976	MIL	85	271	22	62	8	0	10	35	35	38	0	.229
Career	—	3298	12364	2174	3771	624	98	755	2297	1402	1383	240	.305

On this day & linked events

1934

Born February 5, 1934

Mobile, AL, USA

2021

Died January 22, 2021

1929

Babe Ruth's 500th Home Run

Babe Ruth becomes the first player in Major League history to hit 500 career home runs, connecting at League Park in Cleveland.

1954

Major-league debut: Hank Aaron

Hank Aaron made a major-league debut on April 13, 1954.

1959

Hank Aaron's Three-Home-Run Game, 1959

Hank Aaron hit three home runs for the Milwaukee Braves against the San Francisco Giants on June 21, 1959.

1970

Hank Aaron's 3,000th Hit

Hank Aaron reaches 3,000 hits at Cincinnati in a three-hit game that also included a home run, four years before he passed Babe Ruth.

1974

Hank Aaron Passes Babe Ruth

Hank Aaron hits his 715th career home run off Al Downing at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, passing Babe Ruth to become baseball's all-time home run leader.

1976

Final major-league game: Hank Aaron

Hank Aaron played a final major-league game on October 3, 1976.

1995