I never really knew that Hank Aaron was black. But I knew he was from Mobile, my home town. And, lest I forget, the Mobile Press Register would remind me daily as it tracked Aaron’s pursuit of Babe Ruth’s home run record, shattered 40 years ago today.
The Atlanta Braves moved onto my radar when I was eight years old. That’s when the franchise moved from Milwaukee to Atlanta. We started listening to Braves games on WUNI radio, where we heard guys like Milo Hamilton and Ernie Johnson – and later Pete Van Wieren and Skip Carey (my all-time favorite) – call games. Occasionally we’d watch Pee Wee Reese and Dizzy Dean announce a TV game on the Pensacola station.
My granddaddy loved baseball.
My dad appreciated it.
I loved Henry Aaron.
He was and is a symbol to me. [click to continue…]
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