Birthday greetings

February 5, 2008

to Hank Aaron, who turns 74 on Feb. 5.

Aaron is considered by many to be the rightful ruler of the home run throne. During the period during and after Hammerin’ Hank surpassed Babe Ruth’s mark of 714 set, several books describing the man and the feat were published including:

  • I Had a Hammer, written with Lonnie Wheeler, reprinted last year by HarperCollins
  • Tom Stanton’s excellent Hank Aaron and the Home Run That Changed America and the much-less impressive Hammering Hank: How the Media Made Henry Aaron, by Mark Stewart and Mike Kennedy
  • Me and Hank: A Boy and His Hero, Twenty-Five Years Later and Hank Aaron: My Life in Pictures with Dick Schaap, two titles that marked the anniversary of home run #715

To say nothing of the dozens of books for juvenile readers.

Needless to say, Aaron is included in every book that concerns itself specifically with home runs, as well as those regarding the greats of the game.

Interestingly, Aaron’s assault on Ruth’s record generated a renewed interest in the life of the Bambino. In 1974-75, some of the best biographies on the Yankees’ slugger were published by Robert Creamer (Babe Ruth: The Legend Comes to Life), Marshall Smelser (The Life That Ruth Built: A Biography), and Kal Waggenheim (Babe Ruth: His Life and Legend).

The Amazon Report:
“Aaron, r.f.”
I Had a Hammer: The Hank Aaron Story
Home Run: My Life in Pictures
Hank Aaron and the Home Run That Changed America
Babe: The Legend Comes to Life
The Life That Ruth Built: A Biography
Babe Ruth

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Tagged as: Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron

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