Hank Aaron will take one last stance – and it will last forever.
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum paid tribute to Aaron’s legacy with the unveiling of a statue that will stand for all time at the home of baseball in Cooperstown, New York on Thursday.
With Aaron’s widow Billye on hand for the festivities along with more than a dozen Hall of Famers, Hall of Fame Chairman of the Board Jane Forbes Clark officially welcomed the statue to its home on the museum’s first floor. It will be located at the base of the grand staircase. The bronze likeness of Aaron is titled Keep Swinging.
Made possible by Hall of Fame supporters Jane and Bob Crotty and with the guidance and support of Aaron’s family, the statue pays homage to the player on and off the field. Created by sculptor William Behrends, the artwork depicts Aaron holding a bat in his right hand and wearing his Braves uniform. The inscription, which is a quote from Aaron, reads: “As long as there’s a chance that maybe I can hammer out a little justice now and then, or a little opportunity here and there, I intend do to as I always have – keep swinging.”
Elected to the Hall of Fame in 1982 following a 23-year big league career with the Braves and Brewers, Aaron launched his 715th career home run on April 8, 1974, to surpass Babe Ruth atop Major League Baseball’s home run list. A 25-time All-Star, Aaron still holds the record for most career RBI and total bases. If each of his 755 career home runs were erased from his playing record, Aaron would still have totaled more than 3,000 hits.
In 2009, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum dedicated Hank Aaron: Chasing the Dream, a third-floor exhibit that tells the story of a player who helped knock down the walls of segregation while thrilling generations of fans with his unrelenting consistency and class. The exhibit features dozens of artifacts, including bats and balls from record-setting hits, his locker and the uniform shirt, pants, cap and helmet worn while he hit the record-breaking 715th homer. In 2010, Aaron pledged his entire personal collection to the Museum – and many artifacts are now on loan, including to the Atlanta History Center’s new exhibit and the Atlanta Braves.
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Credit: MILO STEWART JR
Credit: MILO STEWART JR
