Hank Aaron Bio

Full Name: Henry Louis Aaron

Nicknames: Hammerin’ Hank, The Hammer.

Born: Feb 5, 1934 in Mobile, Ala.

Major League Career: 1954-76.

Teams: Milwaukee Braves (1954-1965), Atlanta Braves (19661974), Milwaukee Brewers (1975-76).

Biggest Accomplishment: Broke Babe Ruth’s home-run record in 1974 and finished his career with 755, a mark that stood for more than 33 years until it was eclipsed by Barry Bonds in 2007.

Other Records: MLB career leader in RBIs (2,297), extra-base hits (1,477) and total bases (6,856); played in 25 All-Star Games.

World Series Appearances: 1957 (Braves defeated the New York Yankees, 4-3); 1958 (Braves lost to the Yankees, 4-3).

Other Postseason Appearances: 1969 (Braves lost to the New York Mets 3-0 in NL Championship Series)

Awards and Accolades: National League MVP (1957); NL batting champion (1956, 1959); NL home-run leader (1957, 1963, 1966, 1967); NL RBI leader (1957, 1960, 1963, 1966); NL Gold Glove Award winner (1958, 1959, 1960); Baseball Hall of Fame (1982); Presidential Medal of Freedom (2002)

Noteworthy: First player to reach 500 homers and 3,000 hits; never struck out 100 times in a season; third player in baseball history after Ken Williams and Willie Mays with at least 30 homers and 30 stolen bases in a season (1963); finished in Top 10 of NL MVP balloting 13 times; finished with a career average of .305; honored in 1999 by Major League Baseball with the Hank Aaron Award, which goes to baseball’s top hitter each season; 20 straight seasons with at least 20 homers; eight 40-homer seasons; six seasons with more than 20 stolen bases.