His career number of 755 home runs was the best ever until Barry Bonds broke the record in 2007. Not only was he acknowledge for his accomplishments on the field, but also being able to persevere throughout heavy racial tension during his playing career. “It was a horrible moment for me to try to break the record, really,” Aaron said to a New York newspaper Newsday in 2019 “The police were saying all of these probably are crank letters, but some of them maybe were for real. The team stayed at one hotel and I stayed at another. I sometimes had to sleep in the ballpark by myself. I had to slip out of back doors of ballparks.’’
There has been outpouring of love from athletes and celebrities saluting the life of Aaron. Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms also released a statement online.
Mayor @KeishaBottoms on the death of the great Hank Aaron: “While the world knew him as ‘Hammering Hank Aaron’ because of his incredible, record-setting baseball career, he was a cornerstone of our village …” pic.twitter.com/bB9XAauHbC
— Greg Bluestein (@bluestein) January 22, 2021