Everyone has a skill.  Finding and developing it takes work and time.  Or it used to. 

There are still PED-free heroes to be found in the wide world of sports – someone for children, and adults, to look up to.  Please correct me if any of the Mannings were or are into PED’s.  Kevin Durant?  Randy Johnson?  There are plenty of people, not all sports players, which have and will set new standards.  All without PED’s.  But enough.

Hank Aaron, “The Hammer” stated in an interview with USA Today, “…two hundred thousand.  That’s the highest salary I ever made.”  He continued explaining that young players aren’t committed because “…they can make more money in two years than I did in my…career.”

Refusing college football scholarships, baseball was Aaron’s sport of choice.  The year was 1949, Aaron was 15 years old, and he tried out for the Brooklyn Dodgers.  Not making the team, he returned to school.  However, in 1951, Aaron joined the minors, signing with The Negro American League.  In 1952 the team, the Indianapolis Clowns, won The Negro League World Series.  That win produced two offers – one from the New York Giants and one from the Boston Braves.  Aaron chose the Braves, making it to the majors in 1954. 

Desiring to break Babe Ruth’s homerun record amidst the blatant prejudice, Aaron states he’s always believed “…records are made to be broken.”   Threats to himself and his family slowed this desire.  One hit short of breaking the Babes’ record in 1973, Aaron hit his 715^th homerun in 1974, ending the season with 755.

Aaron seems to keep humility as a close friend.  He stated, “The most exciting play in baseball is a triple play…”

Some Stats:

v  1955-1973 hit 24 or more homeruns each year

v  1982 Elected the National Baseball Hall of Fame

v  1997 Hank Aaron Stadium opened In Mobile, AL

v  1999 Ranked 5^th of 100 greatest baseball players in The Sporting News

v  1999 Elected to the Major League Baseball All-Century team

v  2007 Accepted a managerial role with the Atlanta Braves, particularly in minority education

v  2012 Childhood family museum opened at the Hank Aaron Stadium in Mobile, AL.  Stated Aaron at its opening, “This is a truly remarkable remembrance of my family.”                                                                                                                       

Henry Aaron, he’s my kind of hero.