BPL Has Books, DVDs on Baseball Legend Hank Aaron, Who Died Today at Age 86

 

Hank Aaron, the Mobile, Ala. native who endured racist threats before breaking Babe Ruth’s home run record in 1974, died today, Friday, January 22, 2021. He was 86.

The Atlanta Braves, Aaron’s longtime team, said he died peacefully in his sleep. No cause was given.

 If you want to learn more about the man known as one of Major League Baseball’s greatest players, the Birmingham Public Library has several books and DVDs about Aaron. Click here to find books and DVDs about Aaron available for check out from BPL’s collection.

On April 8, 1974, Aaron hit his 715th homerun, before an Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium record crowd of 53,775, breaking  Babe Ruth's legendary record of 714 that stood for nearly 40 years.   

Aaron made his last public appearance just 2 1/2 weeks ago, when he was vaccinated against COVID-19. Aaron joined former Atlanta Mayor/U.N. Ambassador Andrew Young and former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Louis Sullivan in getting the shot, saying he wanted to help spread the word to Black Americans that the vaccine was safe.