Hank Aaron Celebrates 40th Anniversary Of 715 HR’s With Remarks Of GOP And The KKK

Hank Aaron Celebrates 40th Anniversary Of 715 HR’s With Remarks Of GOP And The KKK

On April 8, 1974, baseball fans across the nation watched as Hank Aaron (nicknamed the Hammer) surpassed Babe Ruth by hitting his 715th home run. Tuesday marked the 40th anniversary for Hank’s historical hit and he was honored at a special pre-game celebration before the Braves took on the Mets for the Tuesday night game. Granted, not everyone was happy to see Aaron break the record at the time, not all of it was due to racism. Sure Aaron received death threats and letters and it was reported that some newspapers had even prepared obituaries in anticipation of Aaron’s death prior to, or shortly after Aaron breaking the home run record. I won’t discount how scary it must have been for Aaron to receive threats as he neared the 715th mark. Some of the letters were hurtful as Aaron recalled one in particular that he read stated:

“You are (not) going to break this record established by the great Babe Ruth if I can help it. Whites are far more superior than jungle bunnies. My gun is watching your every black move.”

For me, I will admit that I did not want Aaron to break the record. I was a kid at the time and I had a love for the game even then. Our school had just started the first ever softball league for girls and I was elated to have made the team. I had recently written a report on the great Babe Ruth and so I was a tad bit partial when it came to his home run record. It was then that I developed my love for the Yankees. I was enthralled by the history of so many things. The Bambino curse, the Great Bambino, the House that Ruth built and everything that came with it were all things that stuck in my mind. I didn’t want to lose all the nostalgia that was connected to the Babe Ruth record. I somehow felt that if Aaron broke the Babe’s record, that people would forget about him. I so didn’t want that to happen. And so every day at practice, while I was on the field with my mitt on my hand, I was praying that Aaron would not hit a home run. I didn’t think once about Aaron being a black man. That never crossed my mind. I only wanted to protect Babe Ruth and his record.

Well as we all know, Aaron broke that record. I watched it on tv a guzzilion times. I even surprised myself as I found myself celebrating. I was happy for Aaron. What a great accomplishment for him and what a great mark for the history of baseball. Sure I loved the Babe and wanted his record protected, but one could not help but celebrate that even the best would have his record broken. In my heart, I was happy for Aaron.  In fact, I bought and paid for a brand new mitt and it was a black mitt with the number 715 on it and stamped with a Hank Aaron signature. I still have that mitt by the way.

Aaron

For so many of us, we were expecting to celebrate the 40th anniversary of this day in history. How disappointing for baseball fans everywhere to find that somehow this event had turned political. Is it wrong for Aaron to point out that racism had a huge effect during the period leading up to him breaking the home run record? No, it is not. For Aaron, he keeps the racist letters that he received,

“To remind myself that we are not that far removed from when I was chasing the record,” Aaron explained to USA Today Sports. “If you think that, you are fooling yourself. A lot of things have happened in this country, but we have so far to go. There’s not a whole lot that has changed”

For Aaron to keep those letters as a reminder for what he had to endure through those years is completely understandable. But to use them for a political statement against those who oppose Obama is not. Aaron then went on to say this:

“We can talk about baseball. Talk about politics. Sure this country has a black president, but when you look at a black president, President Obama is left with his foot stuck in the mud from all of the Republicans with the way he’s treated. – The bigger difference is that back then they had hoods. Now they have neckties and starched shirts.”

Personally I am appalled that Aaron would make those statements at an event commemorating that great moment in baseball history. Yes, I would have wanted to celebrate right along with him on this day. But he was pointing his finger and yes he was pointing his finger at me. Is nothing sacred anymore? America’s favorite past time has seen its challenges for sure when it comes to racism as we can even look back to Jackie Robinson. Robinson broke the color barrier by becoming the first African American to play in baseball’s major leagues. He started at a time when baseball was segregated where blacks and whites played in separate leagues. Racism has played a major role in sport’s history but has seen a major decline especially in the past 40 years. How disappointing that Aaron would dishonor Robinson and even his own record considering how much has been accomplished regarding racism and sports.

So on a day that I would normally celebrate and reminiscence about my days on a baseball field, I find myself once again in the political arena. Racism is alive and well in our country according to many of Obama’s supporters. Being compared to the KKK for disagreeing with Obama shouldn’t come as a surprise.  Nothing is sacred anymore in the ObamaNation, including something as simple as a celebration of a great moment in baseball’s history.

Hank

Written by

8 Comments
  • Dana says:

    Henry Aaron played baseball, the most diligent of sports when it comes to tracking production; everything is reduced to statistics. Mr Aaron succeeded in baseball precisely because his teams, his managers, his front offices, didn’t give a hoot about his race or anything else; they cared about whether or not he could produce on the baseball diamond.

    Professional sports are the most Republican, most conservative of businesses: the only thing that matters is winning and losing, and coaches and managers use the players who can help them the most when it comes to winning.

  • GWB says:

    This is truly disappointing. I always had great respect for him because he didn’t spout off on anything but baseball, it seemed.

    I saw one of his record home runs (two that day, actually) against my Rangers in person. It was really hard, since it helped them beat the Rangers, but it was very cool to be there for that moment(s). (Actually, I could convince myself to be happy for the first one; the second one seemed like he was rubbing it in.)

  • VALman says:

    Sorry to hear that you think this way and are disappointed, Hank. Achieving utopia is no small undertaking. I don’t expect to see it in my life time. So, I’ve resigned myself that we live in an imperfect world. This doesn’t mean that we ought to quit striving to improve life for all. So, maybe you ought to get more comfortable with yourself and stop blaming others for whatever is bothering you.

    Many record-breakers are also heroes, but not all. You’re simply a record-breaker to me and a big disappoint.

  • barry1817 says:

    back then they had hoods, and they were called democrats.

    And who was the democrat that was keeping black kids out of schools, and didn’t a Republican president, Ike, have to send the military to protect them.

    Sorry, but with one stroke, this man has set back race relations, set back those that cheered him, and ignored color, and done more harm than he could ever have imagined.

    This man is no Jackie Robinson, who took far worse to make it even possible for him to play, and seems from accounts that the man that made it possible for Jackie, was deeply religious, something that is no longer in fashion, and neither are those values that come with people that have core values based on Judeo-Christian teachings.

  • Xavier says:

    Aaron’s statements show he’s a tribal racist. One day we will finally admit that blacks are the most racist group in America, and they hide that fact by accusing everyone else of being racist. Personally, I blame the media; their blind eye to black cultural problems and violent behavior has encouraged the worst racial problems we’ve faced in over 40 years.

  • OldSoldier54 says:

    So. Aaron is one of “those” guys. How sad … he’s an other of those, “It’s all the blue-eyed devils’ fault!”

    I could weep.

  • Richard Rider says:

    With these comments, baseball icon Hank Aaron has dropped himself from venerated sports idol to being a bitter, ignorant, bigoted, pitiful old man. It’s truly sad for us more senior folks to read this story.

    Aaron equates modern Republicans with the KKK. And there’s no equivocating about it. If Republicans criticize Obama, that’s racist. Modern coat and tie Republicans used to wear white sheets — according to Aaron.

    Consider his concluding “proof” that blacks are being discriminated against in MLB:

    ***

    As an example, Aaron cited the decrease in U.S.-born black baseball players as evidence of modern-day structural racism. Last season, just 7.7 percent of MLB players were black.

    “When I first started playing, you had a lot of black players in the major leagues,” Aaron said. “Now, you don’t have any. So what progress have we made? You try to understand, but we’re going backward.”

    ***

    Pathetic. Blacks are being “replaced” primarily by HISPANICS, plus players from other countries (especially Hispanics, but also Japan). Whites are NOT “replacing” blacks in MLB.

    Today the black culture holds talented black football and basketball players in the highest esteem — but seldom extols black baseball players. Black kids get the message early — concentrate on football or basketball — the “black” sports.

    Some talented black kids have found that tennis and golf offer more lucrative opportunities — sports that in the past were denied to them, so they might have concentrated on baseball. Moreover, inner city schools simply don’t have baseball diamonds. Nor is there any pressure to provide them.

    Black interest in baseball has largely evaporated — a significant concern to MLB. For more detail on how MLB treats blacks, see this “report card”:

    http://www.sportsbusinessnews.com/content/2013-major-league-baseball-racial-and-gender-report-card

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Subscribe
Become a Victory Girl!

Are you interested in writing for Victory Girls? If you’d like to blog about politics and current events from a conservative POV, send us a writing sample here.
Ava Gardner
gisonboat
rovin_readhead