Today marks the 40th anniversary of Henry "Hank" Aaron breaking Major League Baseball's home run record that had previously been held by George Herman Ruth, aka "Babe" Ruth.
Today, in newspapers from Atlanta (where the record was broken) to the national press, the event will be celebrated. The Atlanta Braves will be wearing a special patch this season honoring Aaron and the record (he went on to hit a total of 755 home runs). Many still regard him as the true home run champion because of the reports of steroid use in Major League Baseball in the 1990s and 2000s.
Yet, while Aaron was setting the record, there were those who let hatred blind them to history.
The list of pitchers reads like a Who's Who of baseball pitchers: Sandy Koufax. Don Drysdale. Vida Blue. Nolan Ryan. Juan Marichal. Don Newcombe. Robin Roberts. Hall of Famer or journeyman hurler, he was an equal opportunity masher. His first home run was April 23, 1954 (60 years ago this month) against Vic Raschi of the St. Louis Cardinals; his last, July 20, 1976 against Dick Drago of the California (now Los Angeles) Angels.
After baseball he continued to be honored. When Olympic Stadium in Atlanta was converted to Turner Field, the new home of the baseball team, the street alongside it was renamed Hank Aaron Way, with the address of the stadium 755 Hank Aaron Way in tribute to his home run total. He received the Presidential Citizens Medal from President Bill Clinton in January 2001, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom from George W. Bush in June 2002 (perhaps the sole Bush action I actually approved).
But Aaron played in an era rocked by racial tension. His career bracketed the Civil Rights Act, the demolition of division between the races. There were many, especially in the South where he played, that viewed black people as inferior to white people.
"You are [not] going to break the record established by the great Babe Ruth...Whites are far more superior than jungle bunnies. My gun is watching your every black move."
That was just one of them. Teammates were told not to sit near him on the bench in the dugout.
Aaron has kept the letters, the threats, to remind him of that era. And he reflects that we have not come that much farther.
In an interview with Bob Nightengale of USA Today he talks about that era and this one:
"We can talk about baseball. Talk about politics. Sure, this country has a black president, President Obama is left with his foot stuck in the mud from all the Republicans with the way he's treated.
"We have moved in the right direction, and we have made improvements, but we still have a long ways to go in the country.
"The bigger difference is that back then they had hoods. Now they have neckties and starched shirts."
Aaron also is disappointed with the paucity of young black players in the major leagues (7.7% of major league players, the lowest total since 1959), though he does feel that it is more lack of opportunity than outright racism.
"A lot of people want their kids to play baseball, but can't afford it financially. Today, black kids don't have places to play," he said. "They don't have the bats, balls, gloves. They don't have coaches.
"I think Major League Baseball has to reach back in their pocket and do something to help these kids. I know they're trying to, but I know there's so much room for improvement."
Inner cities often lack the facilities for youth baseball, and it's easier to grab a basketball and head for the playground to shoot hoops with your friends than it is to get a baseball game going when not everyone has bats, balls or gloves. (The major/minor league system might also play a factor in my view; in baseball you might spend your entire career in the minors and never crack the big leagues (with the accompanying big league salaries). In NBA and NFL, it looks like a better chance at making money earlier.)
Aaron sums up the era and country in one sentence:
"Most of all, I pray that no one ever again, in any walk of life, has to go through what I did."
Maybe we'll get to that point, Hank -- maybe not in your lifetime or in mine, but someday.