- Henry Hank Aaron was more than a legendary athlete, he was a trailblazer who shattered barriers (gentle upbeat music) and achieved the heights of American athleticism in the face of racism and discrimination.

From his humble beginnings in Mobile, Alabama, he prevailed, ♪ Run ♪ rounding the bases after those who paved the way before him in the minors.

- I was inspired by Jackie Robinson, of course.

(crowd cheering) ♪ Run ♪ - [Noah] And years later, hitting a historic home run in the Majors.

In this episode, we explored the legacy of American baseball hero Hank Aaron, and how his exceptional athleticism became a platform for advocacy, resilience, and inspiration for future generations of athletes.

(gentle inspirational music) ♪ Rise up ♪ ♪ Come awake or asleep, but rise up ♪ ♪ Come outta the ground, rise up ♪ - [Maurice] There's no better way to understand history other than immersing yourself in the actual places where it unfolded.

♪ Go on, rise up ♪ - [Victoria] From the archives to the streets of Atlanta, join us as we uncover the hidden stories from Atlanta's past and how they impact today's future.

♪ Rise up, rise up ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, rise up ♪ - [Noah] With every question and new discovery, we all leave our mark.

♪ Whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ - [Noah] In redefining history.

(gentle music) (gentle music swells) (gentle upbeat music) - [Narrator] This episode of "(re)Defining History" is brought to you by The Rich's Foundation.

(gentle upbeat music swells) (percussive upbeat music) - [Noah] I'm meeting with Paul Crater at the Atlanta History Center to gather more details about the life of Henry Hank Aaron.

I know about his stats and contributions to the game, but I want to explore his life and career through a historical and social lens.

How did he balance the double identities of being a symbol of American excellence, while also dealing with the societal ills of racism and discrimination that was at the time embedded into the American way of life?

- My name is Paul Crater.

I'm vice President of Collections and Research Services, and I manage the Kenan Research Center, which is the archives and library of the Atlanta History Center.

We are in the Atlanta History Center's "More Than Brave" exhibition, "The Life of Henry Aaron."

And this was an exhibition that we created in 2024 to mark the 50th anniversary of Henry Aaron breaking Babe Ruth's home run record of hitting home run number 715.

- Amazing.

Tell me a little bit about his early life.

- Henry Aaron was born in 1934 in Mobile, Alabama.

(gentle music) His parents were poor, working-class people and they were faced with the realities of segregation in their day and racial terror in their day.

He recalls living in Mobile and having to duck down in his house when his parents would tell him that the Ku Klux Klan is marching down his street.

So he had an early exposure to racism and to segregation.

He, as a kid, developed a love for playing baseball.

And he and his friends learned how to play baseball by hitting a bottle cap with a broom handle.

- You know, I mean, back when I was growing up as a little boy, you either had to be a school teacher or play sports.

You know, really, I just didn't give myself an opportunity nor a chance to do anything else other than play baseball.

(gentle music swells) - How old was Hank Aaron when he first was really discovered and was starting to make his name out in the world?

- Well, it was a very young age.

So at age 14 or 15, he was playing with an amateur team in Mobile that consisted of players much older than he was.

(gentle upbeat music) And so at age 18, he is drafted by a team in the Negro Leagues called the Indianapolis Clowns.

Here we see him at the train station leaving Mobile for the first time in his life.

- When I left home, of course, in 1952, back in Mobile, I didn't realize that I could play Major League Baseball.

(bright inspirational music) - His talent is so obvious that he only spends two weeks with that team before he's drafted by the Boston Braves in 1952.

- After playing against some of the Major League ball clubs and saw some of the Big League talent, I realized at that time, even when I was in Jacksonville, that I had a good chance of perhaps getting to the Big Leagues and perhaps having as good a career as some of the guys that I played against.

- Henry Aaron's time in the minor leagues is represented in this exhibition by a couple of photographs that we have of him.

In 1953, he plays with the Jacksonville Braves, and he, along with four other players, integrate the Sally League.

- It was tougher in the South Atlantic League for me than it was in the Big Leagues.

And I wasn't kidding when I said I led the league in everything but hotel accommodation.

They wouldn't let me do anything.

I couldn't stay with my teammates.

I couldn't play with them.

(gentle foreboding music) - [Noah] Let's think about what was happening at the time when 19-year-old Hank Aaron integrates the South Atlantic League.

- [Reporter] For the first time since the beginning of the war, the President of the United States goes to a baseball game.

(bright upbeat music) - [Noah] Post World War II, baseball had steadily risen as a favorite pastime.

An American way of life, drawing millions of fans to Major League games across the country.

By the time 1953 swung in, the civil rights movement was gaining momentum.

The Korean War had come to an end and the nation was six years into the Cold War.

Baseball, for many Americans at the time, was not just a form of escapism, but also a symbol for national unity.

Imagine Hank Aaron balancing this duality, fully engaged in the game as a dedicated team player and a symbol of American excellence, while also representing progress and equality for Black Americans.

This dual identity made him a hero to some, and a threat to others.

(gentle music) So how did the discrimination Hank Aaron faced within the league and across the South impact him?

Did it have an effect on his confidence?

- Well, I don't know if his confidence was ever shot, just simply because he was so supremely confident in his abilities.

He once told Chipper Jones, "That as long as I have a bat in my hand, I fear no man."

Despite facing all of these threats, he was named the League's Most Valuable Player.

- What are some other ways that Hank was fighting the good fight?

- Well, early on in his career, Henry really let his bat do the talking for him.

(gentle suspenseful music) So there are lots of objects and photographs and other things in this exhibition, which clearly illustrate what an incredible baseball player that Henry was and his impact on the game.

In 1954, he earns a spot with a Major League team, the Milwaukee Braves, he's 20 years old.

And he immediately lights the league on fire.

(bright upbeat music) (crowd cheering) He wins two batting titles in the 1950s.

He wins three Gold Gloves.

He led the league in RBIs three times and in home runs twice.

- [Reporter] This is it, the 1957 Baseball Champion of the World will be crowned today.

- [Paul] And in doing so, he led his team to two National League pennants, including a World Series win in 1957 against the New York Yankees.

- [Announcer] And there he goes.

Hammerin' Hank hits a home run, and this one is special.

(bright upbeat music continues) - [Paul] When he's with Milwaukee, he solidifies his stature as a Major League Baseball star.

- [Noah] So we know that in 1966, the Milwaukee Braves relocate to Atlanta.

Can you tell me about Hank Aaron's time in Atlanta?

- [Paul] Henry Aaron was Atlanta's first sports superstar on a professional team.

- Talk to me little bit what the environment was like.

Any trepidations he had coming here.

- Henry expressed his trepidation of coming back to the South and playing in the South, knowing what he faced in that region before.

And in doing so, that caught the attention of African-American civic leaders in Atlanta who wrote to him to attempt to persuade him to come to Atlanta.

(gentle music) Andrew Young said that just him being in Atlanta during that time, 1966, which was the height of the Civil Rights movement, really had an impact on a lot of people, especially African-Americans in Atlanta.

This was a Black superstar at the top of his game, achieving excellence on the field.

- This all leads up to the 1974 home run.

Hank Aaron at this time was under death threats fueled by racism.

Talk about that moment.

- Not only he was facing death threats, but his family was facing death threats.

He received 3,000 letters a day.

Most of it hate mail, you know.

He was under a lot of pressure.

- Many a days, many a nights, you know, while I was playing that I got all kind of threatening letters from different people.

- [Narrator] Dear (censored) Henry, retire or die.

The Atlanta Braves will be moving around the country and I'll move with them.

You will die in one of those games.

- [Narrator] We have a contract out on you.

If you hit one more home run, you're dead.

- [Narrator] You are not going to break this record established by the Great Babe Ruth, if I can help it.

- The two years that I was challenging Babe Ruth's record, I had to be escorted out of the ballpark, I had to live as if I was running for a presidential slot.

(chuckles) I did not dare stay with my teammates.

It was probably the saddest two and a half years I ever had in baseball, personally, myself.

- [Noah] Despite the blatant opposition, the support and admiration for Hank Aaron's chase to the historic home run was clear, from Atlanta all the way to the White House.

- [President Nixon] When I think of Hank Aaron, I think of power and poise, of courage and consistency.

(gentle upbeat music) But most of all, I think of a true gentleman, an outstanding citizen.

On the field and off, Hank Aaron represents America at its very best.

(bright upbeat music) - The place's goal is to try and win ball games.

As far as the home run is concerned, that I want to hit it here.

And the 500, 600, and number 700 has been hit in Atlanta Stadium, and I certainly would like to tie and break Mr.

Ruth's record here in Atlanta, where so many of my friends here in Atlanta would be able to see it.

(crowd cheering) - [Noah] And finally the day would come where Hank Aaron would do just that.

- [Announcer] And here is Henry Aaron.

This crowd is up all around.

He's sitting on 714.

(gentle inspirational music) - [Announcer] He means the tying run at the plate now.

So we'll see what Downing does.

Al at the belt, delivers.

And he's low, ball one.

And that just adds to the pressure.

(crowd booing) The crowd booing.

Downing has to ignore the sound effects and stay a professional and pitch his game.

- How would Henry Aaron describe Henry Aaron's 715th home run?

- A swing, a long drive.

Way back, way back, way back.

It's gone!

(both laughing) - [Announcer] The outfield deep and straight away.

Fast ball.

There's a high drive into deep left-center field.

Buckner goes back to the fence.

It is gone!

(crowd cheering) (bright inspirational music) (fireworks booming) (crowd continues cheering) 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.

A Black man is getting a standing ovation in the deep South.

(bright inspirational music swells) - Breaking Babe Ruth's record, which stood for about 40 years, seemed to be an unattainable feat.

To Black Americans, in particular, Hank Aaron breaking this record was an extremely important event, illustrating that if you give African-Americans an even playing field, and sports is an even playing field, then they can thrive and achieve excellence.

- All of Hank Aaron's success, it doesn't exist in a vacuum.

It's moment by moment stacking upon each other, right?

- Giants in the civil rights movement are building upon the achievements of people who came before them.

And in the realm of baseball, it's no different.

Jackie Robinson leading the fight, beginning in 1947.

- Jackie and I talked quite often before he died.

I respected him, not only for his baseball knowledge, but for what he meant to me as a man off the field.

(traffic whirring) (spirited upbeat music) - On April 8th, 1949, 25 years prior to the exact date of Hank Aaron's groundbreaking home run, Atlanta witnessed its first integrated baseball game featuring one of Aaron's great inspirations, Jackie Robinson.

Let's go to the site where it all happened.

Midtown Place, the location where shoppers from all across Atlanta come to buy their favorite retail goods and consumables was the former location of Ponce de Leon Park.

(gentle music) Here on these grounds, Hank Aaron's inspiration, Jackie Robinson, played with the Brooklyn Dodgers, an integrated team, against the Atlanta Crackers, in an all-white minor league.

Robinson, along with Roy Campanella, made baseball history in Atlanta by breaking the color barrier in this game.

Both Jackie and Hank were exceptional athletes.

Unfortunately, they both experienced similar resistance, discrimination, and threats of violence during their careers.

The Ku Klux Klan was outspoken in its opposition to Jackie Robinson's team, the integrated Brooklyn Dodgers, playing against the all-white team Atlanta Crackers.

They claimed that the integrated game violated the Jim Crow segregation laws of the South.

Despite the opposition, the three-game series commenced, and all three games proceeded without violence, drawing a record crowd of over 25,000 attendees, including both Black and white fans.

Everything that unfolded here points to the historic moment that would take place 25 years later, (gentle upbeat music) approximately 3.6 miles away, at the former site of Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

- [Announcer] Straight away.

Fastball.

There's a high drive into deep left-center field.

Buckner goes back to the fence.

It is gone!

(crowd cheering) - Hank Aaron's achievement was a full-circle victory in Atlanta's baseball history.

A defining moment in America's history as well.

But beyond the field, Hank Aaron's legacy of excellence became a platform to further civil rights and promote social good.

A lifelong supporter of the NAACP, he fought for racial justice and equity.

His Chasing The Dream Foundation served as a vehicle to make a meaningful difference in the lives of underserved youth.

I reached out to C.J.

Stewart, an Atlanta native and former Chicago Cubs outfielder.

What a day, man.

- I'm good, how about you?

Good to see you.

- Thank you so much for joining me.

C.J.

and his wife Kelly are the founders of a nonprofit organization that empowers at-risk youth to overcome crime, poverty, and racism through baseball and tennis.

(gentle upbeat music) Like so many others, C.J.

has been deeply influenced and inspired by Hank Aaron's legacy of resilience and advocacy.

In the same way that Jackie Robinson inspired Hank Aaron, how did Hank Aaron inspire you?

- I was born in 1976 here in Atlanta.

I'm a Grady Baby, born in a Bankhead community, very similar to down the Bay, a working-class Black community.

And my first exposure to Mr.

Aaron, I was eight years old.

It was 1984, and I was playing baseball at Cascade Youth Organization with the CYO Braves, and would regularly see him at games because he lived in the community.

Just seeing him, what I knew that I could become was a professional baseball player and an activist like him.

And that just really became a part of my life journey to be like him.

And also a combination of Martin Luther King Jr.

Being here in Atlanta in the cradle of the civil rights movement, those two men were talked about a lot.

Mr.

Aaron wasn't just hitting the ball for the sake of it, he was hitting balls to change laws.

And so it inspired me.

(gentle upbeat music) It is often talked about and reported about how Black boys aren't playing baseball.

(crowd cheering) There were Black boys in the city of Atlanta, Bankhead specifically where I'm from, that were playing baseball but didn't have the advocacy.

And some weren't playing baseball that probably would be playing baseball if somebody like me had come back home to create those opportunities.

So that was a very convicting moment that really cemented what my calling was.

But there is a responsibility for athletes, and especially Black athletes, to make sure that they and we are involved with social justice issues.

- What's the advice you give to athletes who are struggling to use their platform for meaningful change, especially on polarizing topics?

- I just recently visited the "More Than Brave" exhibit, and it's about my fourth time going, and I probably have been able to only take in about 20%.

I'm looking and I'm learning and I'm studying, and it's a form of meditation, especially when I start to get weak, I go there so that I can remember being brave.

We need to coach our kids to play with conviction, to play with courage, to be courageous.

When I think about courage and I think about bravery, it includes me being afraid.

We are the Atlanta Braves, and this is a city that needs more bravery.

And rather than me sitting back and hoping we have more of it, then I feel like it's my job to be it and inspire others to do it with my life.

And I can't tell my story of bravery without my connection to Mr.

Aaron.

(bright upbeat music) I had the good fortune of being asked by Mr.

John Schuerholz, Terry McGuirk, Derek Schiller and Mike Plant with the Atlanta Braves to model for the nine-foot tall bronze statue of Hank Aaron that's located in Monument Garden, sculpted by world renowned-artist Ross Watson.

- There had never been a statue or anything in permanence that celebrated the exact moment where Hank's bat hit the ball that ultimately was the home run.

I remember in the first draft of it, he didn't really get the wrists right.

And so Hank was very deliberate about saying, "No, no, no, my wrists weren't like that.

Here's how I hit the home run ball and here's why I was able to hit so many home run balls."

- How have the Atlanta Braves continued to elevate and celebrate the legacy of Hank Aaron?

- You know, a great example of that is partnering with the Atlanta History Center.

We did a great exhibit with them.

It was fantastic.

We just hosted the Major League Baseball All Star game here in Atlanta.

(gentle inspirational music) There was a moment during the game where we stopped the game and recreated the famous home run number 715 when Hank broke Babe Ruth's record.

That was a really, really big moment in the world of sports.

Probably the biggest there is.

- [Noah] The moment of unity throughout America, not just the South.

- For everybody, all those worldwide viewers of the game, they got a chance to see on display how important Hank is, not just to the Atlanta Braves or this community, but really to Major League Baseball and the world.

- Let's go into a little more detail.

In what ways are you guys carrying the spirit of Hank Aaron forward and embodying his spirit in the community?

- With the help of funds from our organization, Major League Baseball, the Players Association, we created a fund that sits within the Atlanta Braves Foundation.

The goal of which is really to celebrate both his on field legacy as well as his off field legacies.

(bright inspirational music) We're really proud of the work that we've done in the community.

Billye has been an incredible ambassador of that over the past number of years.

The opportunity to play baseball, particularly in underprivileged communities, particularly in places like the City of Atlanta, are becoming increasingly more difficult.

Part of that is because the fields don't exist, or it's just an expensive sport to play from time to time, and certainly at a high level.

We partnered with the Atlanta Public School System to build a number of fields.

At every single high school that's part of the Atlanta public school system, we will be renovating or rehabilitating a baseball and softball field as part of that program.

So this is a terrific example of taking the legacy and putting it into action.

Off the field, one of the ways in which we try to provide opportunities for the next generation of the Hank Aarons is to this fellowship opportunity working directly with the CEO office here at the Atlanta Braves.

(gentle inspirational music) It has to be a diverse candidate, many of whom come from HBCUs, and learn everything there is to run a professional sports organization.

The intent of which is actually to find the next great CEO.

- What ways do you all honor the legacy of Hank Aaron within the park?

- Well, literally, when we started designing this ballpark, you could say it was designed around Hank Aaron.

There's not gonna be a place you go to that you don't see in some way shape or form, Hank and what he means to us as the Atlanta Braves.

In fact, on every seat there's a little image of Hank hitting the home run ball, that's right affixed to your seat.

- What do you hope fans and future generations remember most about Hank Aaron and his work?

- Yeah, I think most people realize, you know, he was one of the greatest baseball players, my opinion, the greatest baseball player to ever live, ever to wear the Atlanta Braves uniform.

After his career, he also became a very successful business person.

He had an office that was right next to mine during my tenure here.

He carried himself the same way though, whether it be on the field or off the field.

This might sound crazy, but in a lot of ways, I hope they remember and think about Hank off the field as much as thinking about him as a great baseball player.

- [Announcer] The hometown hero, Henry Aaron, sets his sights.

(crowd cheering) - Baseball is promised to some of us, and sometimes it's promised to none of us, you know, really.

But the most important thing is to do the very best that you can at all times.

And if you can't do it, then keep doing what you have to do, but make sure that you do it well.

(gentle inspirational music) (crowd cheering) - Henry Hank Aaron leveraged his talent to unite others in the spirit of sportsmanship.

But beyond the game, he used his influence to uplift others.

Aaron's contributions to the civil rights movement was his ability to keep swinging in the face of adversity and opposition.

This will go on to leave a long-lasting impact, not only on Atlanta, but on America as a whole.

(gentle music) (bright music) - [Narrator] This episode of "(re)Defining History" is brought to you by The Rich's Foundation.

(gentle music) (air whooshing) (gentle inspirational music) - [Narrator] W-A-B-E.

(bright music)