Aaron’s legacy about more than baseball

If he were only remembered for being a great baseball player, Hank Aaron would deserve to be celebrated for his accomplishments.

Hammerin’ Hank’s feats on the field are only part of the reason why the nation mourns his death.

Aaron, who died last week at the age of 86, earned tremendous fame for breaking Babe Ruth’s career home run record. Many fans still consider Aaron to be the home run king. His mark of 755 was surpassed by Barry Bonds, whose reputation has been sullied by accusations of using performance enhancing drugs.

“Hammerin’ Hank” still holds baseball’s record for most runs batted in (2,297), extra base hits (1,477), and total bases (6,856). He ranks in the top five for career hits (3,771) and runs (2,174).

He was the model of consistency during a remarkable 23year career in which he made the All-Star team 21 times. He hit 24 or more home runs every year from 1955 through 1973, and is one of only two players to hit 30 or more home runs in a season at least 15 times.

But of course Aaron’s feats on the field are only part of the reason why the nation mourns his death. Circumstances thrust him into the center of the civil rights struggle that took place during his career, and Aaron’s character and courage enabled him to rise to the occasion.

Fellow Hall-of-Famer Chipper Jones described Aaron’s significance perfectly: “We’re not only talking about a transcendent baseball player, we’re talking about a transcendent person in American history. Jackie Robinson kind of set the stage, but Hank took it to a whole other level.”

Aaron was among the Black players who entered the major leagues in the first few years after Robinson broke baseball’s color line in 1947.

It was not an easy journey. Growing up in Mobile, Ala., Aaron had few opportunities to play organized baseball due to segregation, but he persevered and worked his way to the top of his profession.

Aaron spent much of his career playing in Milwaukee, but when the Braves moved to Atlanta in 1966, he had to adapt again to life in the South amid the racial turmoil of that era.

Civil rights activist Andrew Young told that Aaron befriended the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and other leaders of the movement. Young said Aaron expressed embarrassment at not being more outspoken but was reassured by King that his example on the baseball field was serving the cause.

Young said Aaron’s outstanding play and status as the face of baseball in the South was a form of civil rights activism, showing that achievements can be made if the playing field were equal.

Indeed, as easy as it is to dismiss sports as something trivial, athletes played a tremendous role in changing hearts and minds about issues of race. It started with Robinson, whose great play and show of dignity in the face of vicious hatred made it clear that discrimination on the basis of race could no longer be tolerated.

Aaron followed in Robinson’s footsteps and endured some of the same challenges. He was on the way to surpassing a cherished record held by one of the most beloved figures not just in sports but in American life. Even a century after his playing days, Babe Ruth is still a household name.

Aaron received death threats and piles of racist hate mail as he neared Ruth’s record of 714 home runs, but he continued to perform brilliantly. He surpassed the Babe on a thrilling night in Atlanta in April 1974. The great broadcaster Vin Scully captured the significance of the occasion: “A Black man is getting a standing ovation in the Deep South for breaking a record of an all-time baseball idol. What a marvelous moment for baseball. What a marvelous moment for Atlanta and the state of Georgia. What a marvelous moment for the country and the world.”

In the years after he broke the record, Aaron continued to display quiet dignity and humility while acting as a quiet warrior for the ongoing effort to bring about racial equality in America.

May the memory of his life and accomplishments continue to serve his nation well.