Hank Aaron, baseball great who became voice for civil rights, dies at 86
Hank Aaron, one of the greatest players in baseball history, who smashed Babe Ruth’s all-time home run record in defiance of threats to his life, and who used his Hall of Fame baseball career as a platform to champion civil rights, died Jan. 22 at 86.
Jonathan Kerber, the Atlanta Braves’ communications manager, confirmed the death but did not provide additional details. Mr. Aaron became the 10th member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame to die since April, an unfathomable loss of starpower, history and institutional knowledge of the game.
Throughout his 23-year career, spent mostly with the Braves in Milwaukee and then Atlanta, Mr. Aaron was admired as a model of steady excellence on the diamond, even though he lacked the swaggering charisma of Ruth or the exuberant flair of his contemporaries Willie Mays and Roberto Clemente.
In 1974, Mr. Aaron broke Ruth’s record of 714 home runs before retiring two years later with 755, which remained one of the most hallowed numbers in all of sports for more than 30 years.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/hank-aaron-baseball-great-who-became-voice-for-civil-rights-dies-at-86/ar-BB1d0fv0?li=BBnb7Kz
I was a Junior in high school when he broke Ruth's record.
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