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Seven hundred and fifty-five times that ball left the park and a serious, sincere man touched his foot to four consecutive bases in diamond shaped fields around America.

What are mortals made of? Every element can be catalogued, but there is something extra in this man and it didn’t come from a man-made chemical injected into body tissue.

They say your heart is about the size of a fist. Hank Aaron either has a fist like Popeye on spinach or the metaphor fails to take into account a rare enlargement, caused by the effects of compassion, spirit, humility, and pure talent colliding in the heart like a freight train.

Starting his career with the farcically named Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro League, Aaron finally stepped up to the plate for the Milwaukee Braves in 1954. He went to work, doing his job for the next twenty-one years, a vivid symbol of the misplaced fears of segregationists as the nation took sport’s lead and changed around him.

I photographed him surrounded by a sea of blue at Turner Field on Hank Aaron Drive. Despite his legendary fame, he was genuine, humble and gracious, and I will always remember the experience as one of my favorites in a business that has given me many wonderful moments.

His humble grace, integrity and quiet determination transcends sports. He was, and remains the best of what a sports legend is supposed to be: a role model for children and adults alike to aspire to equal. In an era of multi-million dollar contracts and endorsement deals, constant trades and tirades and the taint of enhanced abilities through chemically altered bodies, Aaron may represent the last of a breed. We can all be thankful that he remains with us, continuing his service as a reminder of our better selves.

Barry Bonds eclipsed the record Aaron held for an amazing 33 years but in the hearts of many, Aaron remains Hammerin’ Hank, the Home Run King.

Long live the king!

1. Dallas says:

   July 8, 2009 at 6:24 pm

   Well done words of praise and a great photograph. I still wish the stadium was named for the man. Thanks, Billy.

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2. Margaret Barrett says:

   July 8, 2009 at 6:50 pm

   Love this shot!

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3. John Moore says:

   July 8, 2009 at 8:44 pm

   Well said Billy. Well said. He’s an amazing man. And of course, I love the photo. It was an honor and a great experience to be there when you captured it. One of my most favorite moments for sure.

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4. Susan Aikman Miles says:

   July 8, 2009 at 9:03 pm

   He’ll always be a hero in my book, too. I remember sitting in the outfield at Atlanta Fulton County Stadium many times while in college, being thrilled that I was right behind Hammering Hank. I saw home runs #500, 600 (I think) but missed 715.

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5. Keith Graham says:

   July 8, 2009 at 9:27 pm

   Just a few weeks ago, I saw Hank Aaron in the grocery store. Watching him buy fish was almost as exciting for me today as watching him hit homeruns in his baseball prime. A hero? No question — and no asterisk. Thanks for the great tribute, Billy.

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6. Rob Barge says:

   July 9, 2009 at 12:34 am

   Fantastic, Billy! Whether I see him here in your photograph – a relaxed, content senior citizen – or in my mind’s eye – a supremely gifted athlete who made it all look so effortless – Henry Aaron will always be my hero. What a gift to have seen him play, and to know that he has ALWAYS been as great a man off the field as he was a ballplayer on it. Even today, just the thought of him in action gives me chill bumps!

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7. George says:

   July 9, 2009 at 6:40 am

   I think that anyone that knows anything about baseball knows that Hank is still the HR champion. I wish they would close the book on baseball records the day that Hank retired, and start another book called chemical baseball era records. I would like to see baseball stop trying to keep people from doping and just let any thing go. I think it would be fun watching players with giant heads and arms trying to hit 130 mph fastballs. I have lost a lot of faith and respect for baseball. BTW seeing Smoltzy in a Red Sox uni was just wrong.

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8. C Smith says:

   July 9, 2009 at 11:53 am

   Well I am going to be a “devil’s addvocate” in the “love fest” here. I watched Henry Aaron charge an 8 year old boy $50 for an autograph which of course the boy did not have that kind of money and walked off with no autograph. Headed back toward his Dad waiting for the boy with tears in his eyes told Dad what Hammering Hank had said. The boy’s Dad started toward “Hank” but was stopped by security. Not all our so called heros deserve the title of “Hero”.

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9. Billy Howard says:

   July 9, 2009 at 12:21 pm

   Alas, perhaps perfection is too much to ask for. I can only imagine how many thousands have approached Hank, acting like he’s their old friend, sticking out their hands with a ball and saying: “sign this,” as if they own him.

   A part of the living an athlete can make after retiring from the physically demanding and body beating demands of their sport, is in charging the public for memorabilia. It is no secret that they charge for this service. It is also no secret that a baseball enhanced with a Hank Aaron signature is far more valuable than without.

   Like any enterprise, you want to provide a service of value and we should expect value from what we purchase. A Hank Aaron signed baseball gives us 1. A piece of history and 2. A valuable artifact which will only grow in value (unlike some other investments, we’ve discovered).

   Many fathers have gladly plunked down $50 dollars so their child could have a piece of history signed onto their baseball. Sports heroes should not be expected to give away investment sports momentos to fans, regardless of age. This child obviously had a father, who no doubt had spent at least $50 on less memorable items in the past.

   And finally, I sympathize with your comment and may have had the same reaction had I been standing there. You were identifying with the boy, but to be fair, we also should identify with the man and put the incident into context.

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10. C Smith says:

    July 9, 2009 at 6:52 pm

    Billy I can’t express how much it means for you to reply to my comment. I cut it short but I certainly wasn’t the only one that witnessed the incident and there was others that were there that had baseballs in their hands but the boy just had a piece of paper. I can assure you I was not the only one to walk away and some that walked off had a baseball to be signed and probably would have paid his price. If he was in a hurry and was trying to thin out the crowd—-IT WORKED!

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11. Billy Howard says:

    July 9, 2009 at 7:12 pm

    My experience was of a different nature and my expressions are based on that personal history, as are yours. I respect that.

    I stand by what I wrote and what others have seconded in this post. People should be judged by the totality of their acts, and by my standards, I think Aaron is a hero.

    Your experience was different and I’m glad you felt free to express it here. But I believe that most of us are trying to live the best life we can. Our tempers are not always held in check, we don’t always hold to our own values, and we fail in our hearts and minds to follow the path we want to lead at times.

    So, Hank Aaron is human and imperfect. Like me. Of course, I never hit a homerun.

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12. C Smith says:

    July 9, 2009 at 7:48 pm

    Billy I suppose we could go on and on and I do respect Aaron for his ability. One thing I would like to ask is if a young 8 year old aspiring to be in journalism saw you as a hero would you sign an autograph for him? I guess what I am trying to say is it is amazing how each of our “heros” accept their roll or just like to look in a mirror.
    Thank you for making me think. My old brain needs all the exercise it can get.

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13. Billy Howard says:

    July 9, 2009 at 11:11 pm

    You made me consider my beliefs as well. Thanks for the dialogue.

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14. Miles Cliatt says:

    July 11, 2009 at 6:56 pm

    Right on the mark, Billy. Not only is he the greatest baseball player who has ever lived, he’s a man whose life is greatly underappreciated. Of the many professional athletes in this world he is the only one I really, really would love to meet.

    Reply
15. Billy Howard says:

    July 12, 2009 at 9:51 am

    I was lucky to meet both of my sports heros: Hank Aaron and André the Giant!

    Reply