Henry Louis “Hank” Aaron, an American professional baseball player passed away on January 22, 2021, at the age of 86. Hank Aaron played 23 years in Major League Baseball; he played for the Milwaukee Braves from 1954-1965. When the Braves switched from the Milwaukee Braves to the Atlanta Braves in 1966, Hank Aaron played with the team from the time they moved until 1974. He then finished his last two years in the National Baseball League with the Milwaukee Brewers, retiring in 1976.

“Hammerin’ Hank” is a Major League Baseball legend. His actions on and off the field led him to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982. His phenomenal stats of 2,297 RBI’s (still leading the Major League’s), 755 HR’s (2^nd in Major League Baseball history), 25x MLB All-Star, 3x Gold Glove Champion, 4x RBI Leader, and ultimately finished with .305 career batting average.

Hank Aaron achieved many of his life goals outside of Major League Baseball. He created the “Hank Aaron Chasing the Dream Foundation” with his wife, Billye Suber Aaron to help young children of all ages develop their baseball careers. “Aaron is a long-time supporter of civil rights organizations such as the NAACP” (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People). His actions and prosperity led him to be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George W. Bush. in 2002.

Henry Louis “Hank” Aaron was born on February 5, 1934, in Mobile, Alabama, and passed away on January 22, 2021, in Atlanta, Georgia. On Wednesday, January 27, 2021, Henry Aaron’s funeral procession took place at Friendship Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia. On the way to his final resting place, South View Cemetery Association, the precession stopped at Fulton County Stadium, the past home of the Atlanta Braves. The Minot Daily News states, “The outer retaining wall of the old stadium remains, along with a modest display in the midst of the nondescript lot that marks the exact location where the record-breaking homer cleared the left-field fence.”

“His whole life was a home run,” former President Bill Clinton said. “Now he has rounded the bases.”