Legendary Hall Of Famer Hank Aaron Passes Away At 86

hank aaron dead at 86

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Henry ‘Hank’ Aaron, a 25-time All-Star and one-time home run king, passed away on the morning of January 22, 2021, at the age of 86-years-old. The news was first reported by CBS 46 in Atlanta.

The Mobile, Alabama native made his Major League debut at 20-years-old and put together one of the greatest careers the game of baseball will ever see over the next 23 years. He was named league MVP in 1957, which was also the year he won his lone World Series with the then Milwaukee Braves as they topped the Yankees in seven games. He drove in 132 RBIs that year to go along with 44 home runs. Over the next 17 seasons of his career, he managed to hit at least 24 home runs each season.

In 1974, Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s long-standing home run record of 714 career home runs. He would finish his career with 755 total dingers. Barry Bonds eventually broke his home run record having tallied 762 homers in his career. Aaron holds the all-time record in career RBIs with 2,297 and total bases with 6,856 after playing in a total of 3,298 games.

Aaron was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown in 1982, six years after he retired from the game.  In 1999, MLB introduced the Hank Aaron Award to recognize the best offensive players in each league. Aaron was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2002 by George W. Bush.

Boxing legend Muhammad Ali once called Hank Aaron “the only man I idolize more than myself.”