Henry “Hank” Aaron was a tender soul away from the baseball diamond. But on the field, he was an incomparable lion that instilled fear in opposing pitchers.
Aaron passed away on January 22, 2021 in Atlanta. He was 86. While Aaron’s legacy is secure, we are left with his indelible record in Major League Baseball as well as many words of wisdom he shared along the way.
Let’s take a look at some of the wise words Aaron left with us as a testament to a life well lived and graciously played.
While we remember these endearing words, let’s also recall the principles that Aaron lived by, including honor, respect and integrity.
Aaron once replied to a letter from a fan way back from his Milwaukee Braves days. Author Sandy Tolan relates:
“It is very heart warming to know that you are in my corner. I will always be grateful for the interest you have shown in me. As the so called count down’ begins, please be assured I will try to live up to the expectations of my friends.”
Here’s Aaron in a heated conversation with Monte Irvin about whether MLB has been fair to African-American players.
“I don’t care if anybody believes me or not, as long as a breath is in my body, someone has to show me they’re going after a Black manager, they can have Black people working in the front office, they can have a Black trainer, I’ll say then that baseball has been fair to Blacks.”
“I remember many times as a little boy growing up that the Ku Klux Klan would come marching down the street, for no reason at all,” Aaron said in a 2010 MLB Network interview. “My mother would tell me, ‘Son, go hide under the bed.’
While Aaron was pursuing the homerun record, he shared with the Greensboro News & Record some choice thoughts on coaching legend Dean Smith.
When I was going after the record, the questions were always coming at me. ‘When are you going to break it?’ ‘Are you going to break it next week?’ ‘Will you break it tonight?’
“How would I know? You just have to try to be patient. I kept answering that I didn’t know, if not tonight, then tomorrow night, or next week, or next season.
Aaron was a beloved figure for most of America, but the constant racist threats, especially as he narrowed Babe Ruth’s homerun lead in the 1970s, left a bitter taste in his mouth. Here’s what he said about that, according to ESPN.
“If I was white, all America would be proud of me,” Aaron said almost a year before he passed Ruth. “But I am Black.”
The city of Atlanta as well as the state continue to express condolences for the loss of “Hammerin’ Hank.”
Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said in a written statement. “This is a considerable loss for the entire city of Atlanta. While the world knew him as ‘Hammering Hank Aaron’ because of his incredible, record-setting baseball career, he was a cornerstone of our village, graciously and freely joining Mrs. Aaron in giving their presence and resources toward making our city a better place. As an adopted son of Atlanta, Mr. Aaron was part of the fabric that helped place Atlanta on the world stage. Our gratitude, thoughts and prayers are with the Aaron family.”
If you’ve been keeping up with entertainment, you know that Atlanta, East Atlanta, specifically, has its own Brad and Angelina. Only this couple features a successful entrepreneur, Keyshia Ka’oir, and famous rapper Gucci Mane.
The Wopsters welcome baby Ice Davis to the world and Atlanta.
The couple made it official on Tuesday Oct. 17, 2017 in a televised affair at the Four Seasons Hotel in Miami, Florida.
Ka’ oir sells multiple products under her beauty line, including the Ka’oir Waist Eraser, which she credits for helping her slim down while maintaining her curves.
While Ka’oir’s business saavy is considerable, she’s been getting major props for maintaining the clean-living which has allowed Gucci Mane to stay svelte after losing 50 pounds in prison.
Jailed on a parole violation, Gucci Mane — real name Radric Davis — was supposed to serve 39 months, with a release date of March 2017. But he shocked fans last year when the much-thinner rapper debuted in Snapchat videos at his mansion he shares with Ka’oir.
Speaking to The Fader magazine, Ka’oir said that his social media debut was strategic, and everything happened the way she planned.
“When we got to Atlanta, we got off the plane on the runway and we had a private service that took us to our home. Then when we got home, that’s when I started posting on Snapchat. That was all my plan,” she was quoted as saying.
The couple can be seen at various Atlanta events, from Atlanta Hawks basketball games to private parties. Are they Atlanta’s first couple?
Atlanta native Ciara took the internet by storm on Wednesday, showing the first public pictures of baby Sienna. The starlet decided to give the public some awesome pics on the app TraceMe.
The 9-month-old girl is the daughter of the singer and Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson.
“I’m so excited to be opening up my world to you on TraceMe,” Ciara told the world. “You guys know that I tend to be private with a lot of things, but with TraceMe I can have a genuine, unfiltered connection with you all.”
Ciara also has a 3-year-old son from Atlanta rapper Future Hendricks. The boy’s name is Future Zahir.
“Real Housewives of Atlanta” star NeNe Leakes is in the news again, this time for sharing her thoughts on the cast and who needs to be gone.
“If I had it my way, I would get rid of two girls,” Leakes told TooFab. Everyone who watches the show knows that she and Porsha Williams have been at odds since the start of Season 10.
“In my opinion, yes — the cast should be changed up a bit,” NeNe told TooFab in a recent interview. “If I had it my way, I would get rid of two girls and bring in two new ones for excitement. You know, after a while with some of the girls, they just don’t have anything going on exciting enough to be a main cast member.”
“But I better keep who I think should go to myself because the moment I say anything, all hell breaks loose,” she said.
She’s right. We’ll see how this goes over with the rest of the cast members.
Set right here in Atlanta, “The Quad” is BET’s breakout TV series, which debuted last year. The show stars Anika Noni Rose, known for her role in several films as well as the voice behind Disney’s first black princess in “The Princess and the Frog”.
The cast also includes veteran actor Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Jasmine Guy, Jazz Raycole, Peyton Alex Smith and more. Rose stars as Dr. Eva Fletcher, the president of Georgia A&M University, a fictional historically black college.
The show will return for Season 2 on Jan. 23, 2018, the network recently announced. This season the plot takes off at Georgia A&M’s spring semester. Fletcher’s focus is keeping the struggling university solvent while external pressures make the demise of the school a likely reality.
Local news anchor Amanda Davis’ impact was felt far beyond metro Atlanta, where she warmly served court among the region’s viewers for nearly 30 years. On Tuesday, many of her colleagues, many of them whom Davis paved the way for, paid tribute to the CBS 46 broadcaster by donning a red outfit.
Read: Amanda Davis hospitalized after massive stroke
Davis, 62, was at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport last week when she suffered a spontaneous massive stroke while waiting for a flight to go to San Antonio.
Davis was about to board a flight to attend the funeral of her stepfather in San Antonio, according to news accounts.
On social media, especially Twitter, newswomen showed up to work in red to call attention to stroke awareness — and Davis’ legacy.
“Stroke is the 5th leading cause of death in the U.S. About 795,000 people in the U.S. have a stroke each year. #RedForAmanda #StrokeAwareness,” one Twitter user posted.
Stroke is the 5th leading cause of death in the U.S. About 795,000 people in the U.S. have a stroke each year. #RedForAmanda #StrokeAwareness pic.twitter.com/9QnIkn5H45
— Candace S. Coleman (@candacescoleman) January 2, 2018
Wearing #RedforAmanda and #StrokeAwareness in honor of late Atlanta news anchor, Amanda Davis.
*Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women.
*64% of women who die suddenly of coronary heart disease have no previous symptoms. pic.twitter.com/TgLSaq0xq0
— Jazmin Bailey (@JazminMBailey) January 2, 2018
According to CBS46, Davis has been at WAGA-TV for 26 years. “She has received numerous honors and awards during her career, including: RTDNA Edward R. Murrow Award, ten Southeast Regional Emmy Awards, Georgia Association of Broadcasters Gabby Award and the Atlanta Association of Black Journalists Pioneer of the Year Award.”
Today is public viewing for @AmandaCBS46 @Cityofatlanta news anchor, who died suddenly of a stroke
Nationwide, black female journalists wearing #RedforAmanda❤&raising #StrokeAwareness
Know @American_Heart signs
Face drooping
Arm weakness
Speech difficulty
Time to call 911 pic.twitter.com/SrjcFJHpYl— Beairshelle Edmé (@BeairshelleWNCN) January 2, 2018
A public viewing is set for Tuesday while a funeral will be Wednesday in Cascade.
“Real Housewives of Atlanta” castmember Kim Zolciak recently appeared on the Sunday night show and acted the fool, getting into it with Kenya Moore. The two had to be pulled apart during a spat.
Speaking to E!, Zolciak says she regretted the exchange. “I hate watching the drama unfold with Kenya, just allowing somebody to push by buttons,” she told the TV show.
Zolciak rose to prominence on the show but broke away when she married NFL player Kroy Biermann after meeting her at a charity event in 2010. The couple are raising six kids in a suburban Atlanta mansion.
Biermann is currently a free agent after the Atlanta Falcons didn’t re-sign him in 2016. Meanwhile, Zolciak says she has soured on reality TV — or has she?
“I have not watched Housewives, I have not watched every episode since I left, so I didn’t know that Kenya was the type—I didn’t even know Kenya. I didn’t know she was the type to just push people and push people until they just lose it until Porsha [Williams] explained to me what she’s been through with her. So I didn’t feel as bad that somebody was able to trigger me and get me that pissed off. But that’s behind me. You’ll see through the season that that doesn’t happen again. No matter what I have to do when she’s around me, I do many things to just not even deal with her.”
