Henry Aaron will always be remembered not only for his amazing baseball accomplishments but also for his tremendous courage amid the barriers he faced throughout his life. When I was 11 yrs old,, I saw him and the Braves face off against my Mets in the 1969 divisional playoff. Although the Atlanta team had some awesome hitters (Orlando Cepeda and Rico Carty among them), it was "Hammering Hank" whom I feared the most. Of course, he ended up hitting three homers against us in the series... and he was already 35 or 36 yrs old!! Fortunately for my Amazing Mets, there was only one Hank Aaron on their team. R.I.P. Mr. Homerun King!!!
April 1974...NBC on a Monday Night. I'm a lifelong Yankees fan, and I jumped up and down as I watched history. Shortly thereafter, I had a poster of Hank's 715th on my wall. Mickey Mantle said Henry was the most underrated great superstar in baseball. No longer, Henry. You're the best of the best. You always were. You always will be.
Hank Aaron wasn't just a baseball legend, but also a role model for other African-American players to follow. in fact, for all baseball players to follow. His lost is tremendous. RIP.
People like Hank Aaron made ppl realize how stupid it was to put black ppl in their own minor leagues.. black ppl brought alot of talent and excitement to all sports. And still do. Some of the most electrifying athletes ever
@@swappedoutZ71 yeah he broke a lot of barriers in sports. He's one of the first African American athletes that a majority of white people supported hes awesome
Me too, as a young kid in Wisconsin, I'd run around the bases like Hank. I always thought he had a different trot than everyone else, like he felt sorry for the pitcher for hitting it but he had to.
The speed with which the baseball travels the first 200 feet off his bat is something I've never seen anyone else do consistently. His bat speed is unreal
The right handed hitter of all time. You can argue, he's the best hitter of all time. I wish I was alive back when he played so I can go out to the ballpark and watch this GOAT play. RIP 4️⃣4️⃣⚾️
@@nolanfuchs7493, Ty Cobb hit over .400 at least 4 times and has the highest lifetime batting average of .367 along with being the first of two members of the elite 4,000 hit club. Ty Cobb, the best baseball player, ever!
He may well be the greatest hitter of all time - from either side of the plate. Hit 40 home runs in 392 at bats at 39 years old!! Lifetime .305 hitter. Amazing for a power hitter. But the greatest stat is this: There are 32 player who have over 3,000 hits. If you took away ALL of Hank's 755 home runs, he'd still have 3,000 hits.
@JoKro I kindly disagree. Bonds took "roids", as you call it, and that gives him fake home runs and inflated drug stats, which is very off-putting and wrong. And that goes for all the drug users, not just Bonds. Hank was natural - weight lifting, exercise, (remember exercise?) pure muscle tone no drugs. Also, I disagree Bonds was more exciting to watch than Aaron. Hank always had a calm demeanor at the plate and the most sweetest, natural swing - he made hitting home runs look effortless. So, in my heart, the home run king stands at 755 and his name is Hammerin Hank
Hammerin Hank is still the homerun king. Barry Who? I can remember back in the early 70's as a 9 or 10 year old I would listen to the Braves play on the radio and after the game I would grab my little plastic bat and pick rocks out of the driveway and pitch them up and swing at them. If I could hit them into the pond then that was a Hank Aaron home run. Hank was my man then and still is today.
Growing up a 60s/70s Braves fan, Henry "Hank" Aaron was about as consistent a hitter as the sun shining on a summer day. He never seemed to slump. I will always remember him as a great great ballplayer, a hero to us as kids, and a pillar of the Atlanta community.
I mean aside from his 2,297 RBI's, 755 HR's, 3,771 HITs, .305 career batting average, 2,174 runs, 624 doubles, and WAR of 143.1......he was just okay. RIP to the all time homerun king.
Henry was remarkable. With those tremendous wrists and incredible bat speed (not to mention ridiculous eyesight), all he seemed to do in video after video was to flick his bat and the ball would travel 400+ feet. And that, my friend, is how he was able to hit 755 homers. Unbelievable!!!
Hank Aaron was a class act all the way RIP Hammer your Field of Dreams awaits you in heaven your teammates are waiting for you to take your swings at the plate
I had the honor, and it truly was an honor, of meeting Mr. Aaron and he was gracious enough to give me some of his time to talk baseball. He was all class and told some great stories. They say never meet your heroes, but to that I say meet your heroes if they carry themselves like Hank Aaron did.
1:23; I was at that game. Oct. 6, 1969, Game 3 of first ever NLCS, 1st inning off Gary Gentry. Final score: Mets 7, Braves 4 to sweep the series. Hank was the series MVP for hitting a home run in all 3 games. Mets went on to upset Orioles in World Series. I still consider this the greatest sporting event I've ever seen in person. So glad I was able to see Aaron play.
hank was my favorite player when i was a kid, and i was nowhere near being alive when he played, there's a statue of him in our hometown of Mobile, Alabama and i saw it every day and idolized him, RIP to the true Home Run King
Growing up in St. Louis during the 1960s the big home run hitters were Willie Mays and Hank Aaron. I remember when he was interviewed Henry would say it was all in the wrists. Thanks for the highlights. Cards fan
Success is not final; failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts. The road to success and the road to failure are almost exactly the same. Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it. A successful man is a man who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him. The greatness of a man is not about how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively. I look at Hank Aaron Professional Baseball player as an inspiration for motivation. Also. As a young boy in a North Carolina town Barber Shop💈 I remember watching him run many home-runs. The people and I were thrilled and amazed at his excellent play. And reading about him in Elementary School History Class gave me the idea of him as a outstanding achiever. He is one of those athletes and individuals to be inspired by for achievement. His strong spirit motivates you as he hits every home-run. Good players inspire themselves, and great players inspire others. A dream does not become reality through magic; it acquires sweat, determination, and hard work.
5:30 Never saw this homerum before. That ball was CRUSH. When the opposing crowd gives you a standing O for a casual homerun, you've truly gained their respect.
If you know his history you know that he actually held the bat like a left-handed batter but batted from the right side ... All the way up to the minor leagues !!! Just an amazing player and even better ambassador. Idolized him and always stopped what I was doing to listen to him on TV.
when I was a little kid about 5 years old i use to sit in my fathers 56 pontiac and listen to the Milwaukee Braves and waiting for hank to bust one out of the park
The bomb at 1:23 is freakish. Out on his front foot, hands/wrists/forearms only, and he hits it 430ish. On a curveball, meaning he provided the power. Unreal.
@alien observer is not his fault for being absolutely better than the rest. Not his fault that he had more longevity. Your "fair" argument doesn't make sence.
I remember when Hank Aaron hit #715. I wasn’t watching or even thinking about the game and my father came home and turned on the tv right when he was at bat. My father said “ Ah he’s not gonna it it now. I’m going to the bathroom. “ As soon as he closed the door Hank Aaron hit the home run. “ Hey daddy guess what !” “No! you’re joking!” . So I saw history in the making completely by accident
