Hank Aaron and the Home Run That Changed America: Hank Aaron and the Pursuit of a Dream by Tom Stanton

Author:Tom Stanton [Stanton, Tom]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Baseball, Sports & Recreation, History
ISBN: 9780061744860
Google: N5nZKz23XfQC
Publisher: Harper Collins
Published: 2009-10-13T04:00:00+00:00

Struggling at the plate, Aaron limped into Milwaukee for an exhibition in the city that had given him his start. August 6 was Hank Aaron Day in Wisconsin, and it had the feel of a hero’s homecoming. Thirty-three thousand showed up at County Stadium to celebrate the man who had starred with the Braves in all but one of the team’s thirteen local seasons. Though another franchise, the Brewers, had arrived in 1970, Milwaukeeans still harbored resentment over being jilted for Atlanta. But their sense of betrayal didn’t taint the warmth they held for their heroes of yesteryear. For two of them, Monday marked a special day.

Nine hundred miles away in Cooperstown, Warren Spahn, one of baseball’s best left-handers, was being enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He used the occasion to praise a former teammate. “Henry Aaron,” he said, “is the greatest athlete I’ve ever seen in my life.”

Aaron arrived at County Stadium hours before the game, accompanied by Bill Bartholomay. He greeted a parade of old friends and former associates: his first manager, banjo-strumming “Jolly Cholly” Grimm; teammate Felix Mantilla, who had played with him in Jacksonville; Del Crandall, catcher for the World Champion Braves of 1957 and now manager of the Brewers; and former Eau Claire president Ran Bezanson. “Say hello for me to the people of Eau Claire,” Aaron told him. He also reconnected with Brewers chief Bud Selig, whom he had known since the early days when Selig’s father, Ben, owned a Ford dealership that loaned cars to Milwaukee athletes. As a private citizen, Selig had battled to keep the Braves in the beer capital of America. Aaron and Selig used to go to Packers games together.

“This is where it all started eighteen years ago,” Aaron told a crowd of reporters. “I want you to know that I’m happy to be back…. I’ve got so many memories here and so many friends. It is very easy to remember the Milwaukee days.” It was in Milwaukee, he said, where he decided to become a power hitter. “I found that I could be a .350 hitter and be an ‘ordinary’ ballplayer. So I tried to change,” he said. “I felt I could get more recognition by hitting home runs.”

Aaron was in a glorious mood, putting a positive spin on every topic. He dismissed the notion that playing in Milwaukee prevented him from getting the acclaim he deserved. “That’s a lot of bunk,” he said. “It’s not the town; it’s the player. Johnny Bench plays in Cincinnati, and it hasn’t seemed to hurt him. The press builds up a player, and a fellow who consistently hits home runs will get his share of publicity no matter where he lives. The trouble is that it took me a long time to realize that.”

Aaron also rededicated his quest to young fans, “They are the ones who are seeing me now, and I want them to remember Hank Aaron twenty years from now, just like the kids of yesterday remember Babe Ruth.

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