Boxing Forum Non Boxing Talk Boxing Scene Lounge PDA View Full Version : In Honor of Black History Month... Joe Louis 1938 02-16-2007, 03:02 PM I will post the sportscentury biographies of the greatest African American sports personalities of all-time, in alphabetical order! Joe Louis 1938 02-16-2007, 03:05 PM Hammerin' back at racism
By Larry Schwartz
Special to ESPN.com
"For me he was the toughest out. Everybody else, I had a plan. It may not work, but I knew what I was going to try and do that day. But Henry, I just never, never figured out what I was going to do," says Sandy Koufax about Hank Aaron on ESPN Classic's SportsCentury series.
Alphabetically and arithmetically, what could be finer than having "Aaron, Hank" as the first name listed in The Baseball Encyclopedia? The book's leadoff man is better recognized as the cleanup hitter who holds the Cadillac of baseball records: His 755 home runs are the most by a major leaguer.
Aaron also hammered his way into the record book for most runs batted in (2,297), total bases (6,856) and extra-base hits (1,477). He ranks second in at-bats (12,364), tied for third with Babe Ruth in runs (2,174), and third in hits (3,771) and games played (3,298). He is the only player to hit at least 30 homers in 15 seasons and at least 20 homers in 20 years. He hit at least 40 homers eight times, with a career-best of 47. He is the first player to reach 3,000 hits and 500 homers. He led the National League in homers and RBI four times each and played in 24 All-Star Games. | |
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