On July 20, 1976, at Milwaukee County Stadium, “Hammerin’ Hank” hit his final home run, number 755, capping a record that would stand 31 years. Here are three things you (probably) don’t know about the baseball legend:
Aaron had 23 straight seasons of double digit homers.
From his first season with the Milwaukee Braves, where he hit 13 home runs at the age of 20, to his last with the Milwaukee Brewers, where he hit 10 at the age of 42, Aaron’s double digit home run streak spanned his entire career. In fact, there were only three seasons he didn’t reach the 20-home run mark. Aaron’s average? 36 home runs/season.
⚾️ MORE: 13 stats that show Hank Aaron’s significance
He credited a visit from Jackie Robinson for his success on and off the field.
In 1948, when Aaron was 14, Jackie Robinson visited Mobile and Aaron saw his future. Robinson’s message was simple: study and receive an education first, and think about baseball second. Like Robinson, Aaron would go on to shape the way Americans treated Black people and got the opportunity to dine with every sitting president from Gerlad Ford to Barack Obama.
⚾️ MORE: Aaron’s lasting impact is measured in more than home runs
He learned he was headed back to Milwaukee while in Japan.
Moments after winning a home run contest against Japanese home run king Sadaharu Oh, Aaron received a call from Bud Selig, the Brewers’ owner at the time, that he was traded back to the city where it all began–but this time, part of the American League.
