Baseball legend Hank Aaron passes away at the age of 86

January 22, 2021
|In Brewers
|By Zach Heilprin

Major League Baseball has lost one of its biggest legends.

As first reported by CBS46 in Atlanta, Henry Aaron passed away at the age of 86 Friday morning.

While Aaron would go on to be more associated with the city of Atlanta following the Braves move from Milwaukee in 1966, he was one of the first stars in Wisconsin’s biggest city. He arrived in 1954 and would play 12 years at Milwaukee County Stadium. He was an MLB All-Star in 11 of those seasons and hit 398 home runs, while also being named the NL Most Valuable Player in 1957 on the way to helping the city of Milwaukee to its only World Series title.

Aaron kept right on going when the Braves moved south, eventually bypassing Babe Ruth as the all-time home run leader. Shaking off death threats as he approached the record, Aaron hit No. 715 to pass Ruth on April 8, 1974 at Fulton County Stadium.

The Alabama native would return to Milwaukee in 1975 and played his final two seasons with the Brewers. He finished his career with 755 home runs, which stood as the all-time record until Barry Bonds passed him and finished with 762. His 2,297 RBI are still an MLB record.

Aaron, a 21-time All-Star, was enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982.