Though I have always been a Dodger fan, I rooted for Aaron. He was from my hometown and we all swelled with pride then he hit 715th against the Dodgers. After Jackie Robinson did more (along with Mays) for blacks in baseball and, I think, in the country in aiding desegregation.
JAI NY Times Hank Aaron, who faced down racism to become one of baseball’s greatest players and its home run king, has died at 86. The Atlanta Braves, his team for many years, confirmed the death but did not provide a cause. Aaron’s pursuit of Babe Ruth’s career record of 714 home runs proved a deeply troubling affair ( https://nl.nytimes.com/f/newsletter/90arjFv1oCEHM89Nd5bEHQ~~/AAAAAQA~/RgRh7d93P0ThaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnl0aW1lcy5jb20vMjAyMS8wMS8yMi9zcG9ydHMvYmFzZWJhbGwvaGFuay1hYXJvbi1kZWFkLmh0bWw_Y2FtcGFpZ25faWQ9NTcmZW1jPWVkaXRfbmVfMjAyMTAxMjImaW5zdGFuY2VfaWQ9MjYzMjImbmw9ZXZlbmluZy1icmllZmluZyZyZWdpX2lkPTgxNTM3MTE1JnNlZ21lbnRfaWQ9NTAwNDMmdGU9MSZ1c2VyX2lkPTMyMDJkMjAzYmFlMjkxZGM2Zjc2Y2VjZWUxMDhhMmJkVwNueXRCCmAId1oLYI4dHYRSFWpvaG5haW1hbmkzQGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAAA~~ ) beyond the pressures of the ball field. When Aaron hit his 715th home run in 1974 against the Los Angeles Dodgers, he prevailed in the face of hate mail and death threats from racists who were outraged that a Black man could supplant a white baseball icon. “It really made me see for the first time a clear picture of what this country is about,” Aaron later said of the accomplishment. He would go on to hold the title of most home-runs — 755 in total — for 30 years. It was one of many outrageous stats ( https://nl.nytimes.com/f/newsletter/7CEwkIsjfm023C_lfwDDwg~~/AAAAAQA~/RgRh7d93P0TiaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnl0aW1lcy5jb20vMjAyMS8wMS8yMi9zcG9ydHMvYmFzZWJhbGwvaGFuay1hYXJvbi1zdGF0cy5odG1sP2NhbXBhaWduX2lkPTU3JmVtYz1lZGl0X25lXzIwMjEwMTIyJmluc3RhbmNlX2lkPTI2MzIyJm5sPWV2ZW5pbmctYnJpZWZpbmcmcmVnaV9pZD04MTUzNzExNSZzZWdtZW50X2lkPTUwMDQzJnRlPTEmdXNlcl9pZD0zMjAyZDIwM2JhZTI5MWRjNmY3NmNlY2VlMTA4YTJiZFcDbnl0QgpgCHdaC2COHR2EUhVqb2huYWltYW5pM0BnbWFpbC5jb21YBAAAAAA~ ) held by Hammerin’ Hank. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#5766): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/5766 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/80048345/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. -=-=- Group Owner: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/8674936/1316126222/xyzzy [[email protected]] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
