Hank Aaron Essay

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Hank Aaron is a household name in baseball, one of the most important and influential players in any sport. The reasons for Hank Aaron's success go far beyond his athletic abilities and talents as a player -- for which he is obviously renowned -- but to his sportsmanship, his civil rights activism, and for his overall character. Aaron contributed tremendously to the sport of baseball by injecting his values and ideals into the game.



Born Henry Louis Allen, Hank was born in Mobile, Alabama in what has widely been described as a "humble" and economically underprivileged circumstances ("Hank Aaron," n.d.). Segregation and overt, politically and socially sanctioned racism was a part of life in the America that Hank knew. Hank admitted he was bitten by the baseball bug at a young age, and was already "showing prowess" when he was just four years old (Vascellaro 2). Clearly a child prodigy athlete, Hank Aaron's family supported his interest in baseball by moving to a rural neighborhood where young Hank had access to the large open spaces needed to practice. Hank played frequently with friends and other baseball enthusiasts at Carver Park, a recreational space specifically designated for the African-American community. One adult who observed the young Hank throwing baseballs commented, "Henry threw a baseball like a man, not a little child," (Vascellaro 2). Young Henry Aaron practiced with whatever equipment he and his family could find, often makeshift items like using broomsticks for bats and bottle caps for balls (Vascellaro 4). His dedication to the sport therefore started at a very young age, proving the importance of patience and persistence in cultivating the requisite skill sets to succeed in an increasingly competitive playing environment.

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Ironically, Aaron's dedication to baseball got him kicked out of school, as he was "expelled after repeatedly skipping class to listen to the Dodgers games and the exploits of their young second baseman of Jackie Robinson," ("Hank Aaron Biography," n.d.). Robinson had broken the color barrier in baseball -- and the event symbolized Aaron's rising hopes of playing in the major leagues. Because his segregated school had no baseball team for black students, Henry pursued other sports like football but eventually quit because he did not want to get injured and jeopardize his chances to play on his field of dreams ("Hank Aaron Biography," n.d.). The first scout to notice Aaron was Ed Scott, who managed the all-black semipro team the Mobile Black Bears. Aaron played shortstop, but not for long -- Scott recognized that Aaron's talents were wasted on such a small arena and he helped Hank get signed to the Negro American League's Indianapolis Clowns when he turned 18 years old. Aaron would ultimately help the Clowns win the Negro League World Series: he hit five home runs and batted .400 that season ("Hank Aaron Biography," n.d.).



As teams started integrating around the country, Aaron eventually got his break….....

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Works Cited

Baseball Hall of Fame. "Hank Aaron." Retrieved online: http://baseballhall.org/hof/aaron-hank

Bowman, Mark. "Aaron is Baseball's Gold Standard." Retrieved online: http://m.mlb.com/news/article/1952314//

"Hank Aaron," Biography. N.d. Retrieved online: http://www.biography.com/people/hank-aaron-9173497

"Hank Aaron Biography," ESPN. N.d. Retrieved online: http://www.espn.com/mlb/player/bio/_/id/17499/hank-aaron

Regoli, Robert M., Hewitt, John D., Robert Munoz and Adam M. Regoli. "Location, Location, Location." Negro Educational Review; Greensboro55.2/3 (Apr-Jul 2004): 75-90.

Vascellaro, Charlie. Hank Aaron: A Biography. Connecticut: Greenwood, 2005.

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