Sharjah 24 - Reuters: Baseball Hall of Famer Hank Aaron, the quiet, unassuming slugger who broke Babe Ruth's supposedly unbreakable record for most home runs in a career and battled racism in the process, died on Friday at 86 years-old.
Hall of Fame slugger Hank Aaron, nicknamed ‘Hammerin Hank,’ died on Friday, according to Major League Baseball’s Atlanta Braves.
Aaron was a quiet, unassuming baseball player who in 1974 broke Babe Ruth's seemingly unbreakable record of 714 career home runs. A record that stood until 2007. He finished his career with 755.
After retiring in 1976, Aaron became one of the few African-Americans in baseball to assume an executive position, which he did with the Braves.
Aaron played with a smooth, under-control style that made the game look easy.
He was able to overcome an impoverished youth and racial hatred to become one of the greatest and most consistent baseball stars of all time.
Aaron was inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982.
When asked by Reuters back in 2015, what he wanted people to remember about him, he said this: “You know, I think they would say that he did it right. You know, in spite of all the other things, I think they would say he did everything that was supposed to be done and did it right."
Hank Aaron was 86 years old.
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