2.  Herbert and Estella had no idea that on February 5 th, 1943 when they welcomed their 3 rd child into the world, he would become one of the “Greatest Baseball Players of All Time.”  The Aaron family resided in Mobile, Alabama. *Picture of transporting Hank Aaron's home in Mobile, Alabama across town to sit near the Mobile Bay Bears new stadium which is named "The Hank Aaron Stadium".

3.  Hank grew up picking cotton on a farm, and many say that’s how he strengthened his hands.  His family could not afford baseball equipment, so he practiced by hitting bottle caps with sticks.  He made his own bats and balls out of materials found on the streets.

4.  During his junior year of high school, Aaron joined the independent negro league team the “Mobile Black Bears.”  He earned $10.00 a game, and on November 20, 1951 his minor league career begin when he signed with the Indianapolis Clowns in Indianapolis, Indiana.

5. 1952 HANK AARON-  Hank helped the Clowns win the 1952 Negro League World Series.  He received two offers from MLB teams via telegram; one offer from the New York Giants, and the other from the Boston Braves.  Aaron had an average of.366 in 26 official Negro League games, with 5 homeruns, 33 RBI, 41 hits, and 9 stolen bases.  “I had the Giants’ contract in my hand. But the Braves offered fifty dollars a month more. That’s the only thing that kept Willie Mays and me from being teammates- fifty dollars.”

6.  Aaron played for the Braves’ Northern League Class-C farm team called the “Eau Claire Bears.”  In 1953, after moving up to the Jacksonville Tars, Aaron lead the league in runs, hits, doubles, RBI, total bases, and batting average winning the leagues MVP award.  Aaron was one of the first African Americans to play in the league.

7. THE LAW:  When Aaron traveled around the south, he was often separated from his team because of the Jim Crow laws.  There where a lot of times Aaron had to make his own arrangements for housing and meals.

8. Hank Aaron married Barbara Lewis in 1953 who later blessed him with Henry Jr., Lary, Gaile, and Dorinda. They later divorced and he later married Billye Williams in 1973 who later blessed him with one child Ceci.

9.  Hank’s MLB career spanned the years 1954-1976.  He made 21 All-Star Game appearances.  1957 Hank Aaron won his only National League MVP Award.  1958 he picked up his first Gold Glove.  Aaron was the first player to ever hit 500 home runs and reach 3,000 hits.  On April 8, 1974, a crowd of 53,775 people setting a Braves attendance record. Aaron hit a career homerun number 715 passing Babe Ruth’s record set in 1935.  At this time, Aaron received death threats and a hate mail from people who did not want to see a black man break Ruth’s record.

10. 1974!1975!  October 5 th, 1974 Aaron hit his 733 rd and final homerun as a Brave, which stood as the National League record until 2007.  30 days later he was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers where he broke baseballs all time RBI record.  On July 20 th, 1976 Hank Aaron hit his 755 th and final homerun at Milwaukee County Stadium.

11.  On August 1 st, 1982, Hank Aaron was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.  Aaron was named the Braves’ vice president and director of player development, making him one the first minorities in Major League Baseball upper-level management.  February 5 th, 1999, on Hanks 65 th birthday, Major League announced the introduction of the Hank Aaron Award.

12.  As part of the Hank Aaron Chasing the Dream Foundation’s efforts at universities around the country, Hank Aaron and his wife, Billye, have established an endowed “4 for 4” Scholarship in honor of MLB Commissioner Allan H. “Bud” Selig at the University of Wisconsin- Madison, the commissioner’s alma mater.  The foundation is endowing four-year scholarships for the benefit of deserving youngsters who have chosen to pursue their dreams by attending college.  “Billye and I have been blessed with a great many friends who were there for us during our lives and now join us in our efforts to help young people become more than even they can imagine,” says Hank Aaron.

13.  In April 1997, a new baseball facility for the AA Mobile Bay Bears constructed in Aaron’s hometown of Mobile, Alabama was named Hank Aaron Stadium.  The stadium honors Hank Aaron for the light he showed many African Americans during the hard times of segregation.  He was an inspiration to all, and a light for many others.

14.  Hank and his family live in Union City, Georgia.  He owns the Hank Aaron BMW of south Atlanta in Union City, Georgia.  He gives an autographed baseball with every car sold.

15. (2010 September 30). Hank Aaron from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hank_Aaron DuPre, Chris. (2010 August 27). The University of Wisconsin- Madison: DuPre, Chris. (2010 August 27). The University of Wisconsin- Madison: Hank Aaron’s Chasing the Dream Foundation establishes scholarship at UW-Madison. Retrieved from http://www.news.wisc.edu/18335Retrieved from http://www.news.wisc.edu/18335