#380 Hank Aaron

If you are reading this blog then you don't need me to try to summarize the brilliant career of Hank Aaron. So I'd do what I usually do with mega stars here, a list of accomplishments from Hank's BR Bullpen page, and a few notes and links.

• 1953 MVP South Atlantic League Jacksonville Tars
• 24-time All-Star (1955-1975)
• NL MVP (1957)
• 3-time NL Gold Glove Winner (1958-1960/RF)
• 2-time NL Batting Average Leader (1956 & 1959)
• 4-time NL Slugging Percentage Leader (1959, 1963, 1967 & 1971)
• 3-time NL OPS Leader (1959, 1963 & 1971)
• 3-time NL Runs Scored Leader (1957, 1963 & 1967)
• 2-time NL Hits Leader (1956 & 1959)
• 8-time NL Total Bases Leader (1956, 1957, 1959-1961, 1963, 1967 & 1969)
• 4-time NL Doubles Leader (1955, 1956, 1961 & 1965)
• 4-time NL Home Runs Leader (1957, 1963, 1966 & 1967)
• 4-time NL RBI Leader (1957, 1960, 1963 & 1966)
• 20-Home Run Seasons: 20 (1955-1974)
• 30-Home Run Seasons: 15 (1957-1963, 1965-1967 & 1969-1973)
• 40-Home Run Seasons: 8 (1957, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1966, 1969, 1971 & 1973)
• 100 RBI Seasons: 11 (1955, 1957, 1959-1963, 1966, 1967, 1970 & 1971)
• 100 Runs Scored Seasons: 15 (1955-1967, 1969 & 1970)
• 200 Hits Seasons: 3 (1956, 1959 & 1963)
• Won a World Series with the Milwaukee Braves in 1957
• Baseball Hall of Fame: Class of 1982

Just some Hank stuff... I was at Shea on a May night in 1969 when Aaron hit #513. Two night later he hit a pair in one game.... I saw him hit two in 1973, the first off Jerry Reuss in May, it was #684 and I saw him hit #712 in the Astrodome in September 22, 1973. It was the winning blow in a 4-2 Braves win.... from his Hall of Fame bio:

Biography: Exhibiting an understated style that became his trademark, Hank Aaron became the all-time home-run champion via one of the most consistent offensive careers in baseball history, with 3,771 hits. In addition to his 755 home runs, he also set Major League records for total bases, extra-base hits and RBIs. Aaron was the 1957 National League MVP, won three Gold Gloves for his play in right field and was named to a record 25 All-Star squads.

He has three other cards  in this set: his All Star card, a Baseball Thrills card and a combo card shared with Eddie Mathews.  This is the best of them in my eyes. You can't see much of that great Braves uni but, hey, it's Hank Aaron. You know it looks great on him. 

#212 Fence Busters

Among the 1959 set Topps scattered 'special' multi-player cards. With some exceptions these featured 2 or 3 teammates in posed shots with a write-up on the back. This (obviously ungraded) special is among my favorites largely because I admired both of these players and I really admired the classic Braves uniforms of that era.

Not much to say about either of these two Hall-of-Famers. Both were always class acts. I saw Hank Aaron hit a few homers, the most significant was #712 in the Astrodome. What I remember most about it is that I was at the game with a friend who was a big Braves/Aaron fan. He had fit when we overheard fans behind us disparaging Aaron home run totals because of the dimensions of Fulton County Stadium.

I saw Eddie Mathews play as a Brave at Shea Stadium in the 60s but nothing stands out. I did see him once as an Astro in 1967. My family had just moved to Houston and my father and I attended a game versus the Pirates. I was amazed at how green the turf looked and I spent a lot of time staring at the roof. He was dealt to the Tigers not long after that in a trade that brought Fred Gladding to Houston.

I hadn't realized until I found the game on Baseball Reference that Eddie Mathews was the Braves manager.