Baseball icon Hank Aaron has died at 86 and his death has rocked Atlantans.
The Hall of Famer and former Braves slugger is as embedded in the city’s history as peaches are to Georgia, having spent nine years playing in the Big Peach before becoming the vice president of team development in 1976. That was two years after he broke Babe Ruth’s home run record. And Aaron’s new job led him to become one of the first Black people in upper management in Major League Baseball.
The home run king called Atlanta home and residents embraced him. Now, they’re reflecting on losing the legend.
It wasn’t only his contributions to the MLB and sports at large that made Atlantans weep virtually or otherwise. Aaron was long a supporter of civil rights organizations such as the NAACP and his impact on humanity and human rights were not forgotten.
Many simply shared how much of an impact the right fielder had on the city.
