Hammering Hank Aaron, The Home Run King, Dead at 86.

 

He took the Covid-19 vaccine two weeks ago.

He did not have the China Virus, but he took it at the Moorehouse School of Medicine with his wife, Bellie, on camera, to encourage Black Americans to take it (despite the History of the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment only a few years ago in Alabama), and now

Hammering Hank Aaron, dead at 86.

 He was a real sports hero. He suffered the slings and arrows of outrageous racism, even more then Jackie Robinson, just one man's opinion.

Henry Louis "Hank" Aaron, the Baseball Hall of Famer who broke Babe Ruth's all-time home run record in the face of racism and went on to become a revered ambassador to the game, has died. He was 86.

"It is with great sadness we share the passing of our home run king, Hank Aaron, who passed away peacefully in his sleep," his former team, the Atlanta Braves, said in a statement.

The cause of death can be attributed to the virus vaccine he received 2 weeks before.

Hank Aaron Fast Facts

"We are absolutely devastated by the passing of our beloved Hank," Braves Chairman Terry McGuirk said in a statement. "He was a beacon for our organization first as a player, then with player development, and always with our community efforts. 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."

 

 

Hank Aaron hit his 715th career homer in Atlanta in on April 8, 1974.

Aaron's incredible power-hitting achievement came in the shadow of hate and death threats from people who did not want a Black man to claim such an important record.

Major League Baseball Commissioner Robert Manfred Jr. called his friendship with Aaron "one of the greatest honors of my life" and praised "Hank's impact on our sport and the society."

"Hank Aaron is near the top of everyone's list of all-time great players," Manfred said in a statement.

Photos: Baseball icon Hank Aaron

"His monumental achievements as a player were surpassed only by his dignity and integrity as a person. Hank symbolized the very best of our game, and his all-around excellence provided Americans and fans across the world with an example to which to aspire. His career demonstrates that a person who goes to work with humility every day can hammer his way into history -- and find a way to shine like no other."

Aaron, known as "Hammer" or "Hammerin' Hank," was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982 following an illustrious MLB career highlighted by 755 career home runs. Aaron famously broke Ruth's longstanding home run record on April 8, 1974 -- hitting his 715th homer at home in Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

As he was chasing Ruth's record, Aaron was taunted daily at ballparks, received threats on his life and was sent thousands of racist hate mail. He said he didn't read most of the mail but kept some as a reminder.