Hank Aaron — Braves Icon, Baseball Trailblazer — Dies At 86

ATLANTA — While he will be remembered for breaking the longstanding home run record of Babe Ruth in a South still mired by segregation, baseball legend Henry "Hank" Aaron is considered a "cornerstone" of Atlanta's global notoriety.

Aaron died Friday morning at age 86.

Born Henry Louis Aaron in 1934 in Mobile, Alabama, he went on to become a Major League Baseball Hall of Famer and break several records, including the coveted home run record. During his life, he was more than just a baseball icon. He was a fixture in Atlanta, contributing to humanitarian causes throughout the city, leading the Braves ballclub from the front office, and starting a business in the area.

Aaron is survived by his wife, Billye; children Gaile, Hank Jr., Lary, Dorinda and Ceci; and his grandchildren.

“We are absolutely devastated by the passing of our beloved Hank,” Braves Chairman Harry McGuirk said in a statement. “His incredible talent and resolve helped him achieve the highest accomplishments, yet he never lost his humble nature. Henry Louis Aaron wasn’t just our icon, but one across Major League Baseball and around the world. His success on the diamond was matched only by his business accomplishments off the field and capped by his extraordinary philanthropic efforts.”

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms paid her respects to Aaron in a statement saying his death was a tremendous loss for the city.

“Derek, our family and I join the nation in sending heartfelt condolences to Mrs. Billey Aaron, the beautiful wife of Henry ‘Hank’ Aaron for nearly 50 years, and the entire family. This is a considerable loss for the entire city of Atlanta. While the world knew him as ‘Hammerin' Hank Aaron’ because of his incredible, record-setting baseball career, he was a cornerstone of our village, graciously and freely joining Mrs. Aaron giving their presence and resources toward making our city a better place. As an adopted son of Atlanta, Mr. Aaron was part of the fabric that helped place Atlanta on the world stage. Our gratitude, thoughts and prayers are with the Aaron family.”

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp also voiced his condolences for Aaron's death.

"Our family is heartbroken to hear the news of Hank Aaron's passing," Kemp said in a statement. "Hank Aaron was an American icon and one of Georgia's greatest legends. His life and career made history, and his influence was felt not only in the world of sports, but far beyond — through his important work to advance civil rights and create a more equal, just society. We ask all Georgians to join us in praying for his fans, family, and loved ones as we remember Hammerin' Hank's incredible legacy."

Former President Barack Obama took to Twitter to pay his regards to Aaron.

“Aaron was beloved by his teammates and by his fans,” former baseball commissioner and longtime friend Bud Selig said in an Associated Press report. “He was a true Hall of Famer in every way. He will be missed throughout the game, and his contributions to the game and his standing in the game will never be forgotten.”

Skip Bayless, sports commentator and co-host of "The Undefeated" on Fox Sports, tweeted his memories of meeting Aaron, calling him "a good man."

Aaron played major league baseball for 23 seasons and spent 21 of those years in a Braves uniform. He hit 755 home runs, a record that stood for 30 years until Barry Bonds hit his 756th homer in 2007. Most notable was April 8, 1974, when Aaron hit his 715th career home run to break Babe Ruth’s long-standing record, according to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Nicknamed “Hammerin’ Hank,” Aaron recorded a record 20 seasons with 20 or more home runs, and hit homes off 310 different pitchers, including 13 who are in the Hall of Fame. Among his other astonishing baseball milestones when he retired in 1976 are career records in extra-base hits (1,477), total bases (6,856) and RBIs (2,297) — the latter two he still holds today. Aaron also won a World Series in 1957 when the Braves were still in Milwaukee and was named National League MVP that year.

He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982, with a career batting average of .305, the third most hits (3,771), the second most runs (2,174 — a tie with Ruth), and second most at-bats (12,364). Aaron also was a prolific defensive player, garnering three career Gold Glove awards for his work in the outfield. He also was selected as an All-Star a record 25 times, according to the Braves. In recognition of his career efforts, Major League Baseball introduced the Hank Aaron Award in 1999, presented each year to the best hitter in the National and the American Leagues.

President George W. Bush awarded him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2002, and honored him Friday on Twitter.

In the run-up to breaking Ruth's record, Aaron faced hate mail and death threats as a Black man threatening to overshadow a white man's accomplishment in the early 1970s South when racial segregation was still only beginning to transition from the gains of the Civil Rights movement of the '60s.

"If I was white, all America would be proud of me," Aaron said nearly a year before surpassing Ruth's record, the AP reported. "But I am Black."

Well established in his career by the night of the record home run, he had been one of the early wave of Black baseball players who broke Major League Baseball's color barrier, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. But of those players — including Willie Mays, Satchel Paige and Jackie Robinson — Aaron was the only one who remained in the south.

Aaron moved into the Braves front office after leaving the playing field and worked his way up to being senior vice president of the organization before retiring in 1989. In that time, he oversaw development of the many players recruited to the team’s 1982 National League West Division Championship.

His humanitarian pursuits proved that he would be a standout beyond the baseball diamond. Aaron established the Chasing the Dream Foundation in 1995 with the goal of helping children ages 9 to 12 realize their dreams, providing grants to 755 children (the number of his career home runs) in cities across the country. With the support of Major League Baseball, the foundation morphed into the Hank Aaron Chasing the Dream “44 Forever” program.

Both charitable programs offered underserved youth the opportunity to gain advanced education and/or training so that they could pursue their dreams in art, music, writing, dance or sports. He also created the Four-to-Four Scholarship program endowing four-year scholarships to deserving students. In 2003, he was awarded the first Jackie Robinson Lifetime Achievement Legacy Award from the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, honoring his “career of excellence in the face of adversity.”

While baseball was not always a way of life for Aaron, it was his way out of his impoverished upbringing in segregation-era Alabama, Aaron said in a 2018 interview reported by The Associated Press.

"You could say that God kind of had his hands on me, directing me on the right path," he said. "I don't know any other way that I could have gotten out of Mobile, Alabama."

Fortunately for his family, his fans, and everyone whose life Aaron touched, baseball gave him a way into history.