I Had a Hammer: The Hank Aaron Story

by Hank Aaron, Lonnie Wheeler

Henry Aaron left his mark on the world by breaking Babe Ruth's record for home runs. But the world has also left its mark on him. "Hammering Hank" Aaron's story is one that tells us much about baseball, naturally, but also about our times. His unique, poignant life has made him a symbol for much of the social history of twentieth-century America.

Raised during the Depression in the Deep South enclave of Mobile, Alabama, Aaron broke into professional baseball as a cross-handed slugger and shortstop for the Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro American League. A year later, he and a few others had the unforgettable mission of integrating the South Atlantic League. A year after that, he was a timid rookie leftfielder for the Milwaukee Braves, for whom he became a World Series hero in 1957 as well as the MostValuable Player of the National League.

Aaron found himself back in the South when the Braves moved to Atlanta in 1965. Nine years later, in the heat of hatred and controversy, he hit his 715th home run to break Ruth's and baseball's most cherished record--a feat that was recently voted the greatest moment in baseball history. That year, Aaron received over 900,000 pieces of mail, many of them vicious and racially charged.

In a career that may be the most consistent baseball has ever seen. Aaron also set all-time records for total bases and RBIs. He ended his playing days by spending two nostalgic seasons back in Milwaukee with the Brewers, then embarked on a new career as an executive with the Atlanta Braves. He was for a long time the highest-ranking black in baseball. In this position, Aaron has become an unofficial spokesman in racial matters pertaining to the national pastime.

Because of the depth and pertinence of Aaron's dramatic experiences, I Had A Hammer is more than a baseball autobiography. Henry Aaron's candor and insights have produced a revealing book about his extraordinary life and time.

Genres: Baseball, Sports, Biography, Nonfiction, Autobiography, History, Memoir

480 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published March 1, 1991

About the author

American baseball player Henry Louis Aaron, known as Hank, in 1974 surpassed lifetime record of George Herman Ruth of 714 home runs and retired in 1976 with a total of 755 home runs, a record that lasted until 2007.

Homer run the 756th of American baseball player Barry Lamar Bonds broke lifetime record of Hank Aaron in 2007.

His Major League Baseball (MLB) career spanned the years 1954 through 1976. Aaron was widely considered one of the greatest baseball players of all time. In 1999, editors at The Sporting News ranked Hank Aaron fifth on their list of "Greatest Baseball Players."

After playing with the Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro American League and in the minor leagues, Aaron started his major league career in 1954. (He was the last Negro league baseball player to have played in the major leagues.) He played 21 seasons with the Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves in the National League, and his last two years (1975–76) with the Milwaukee Brewers in the American League. His most notable achievement was setting the MLB record for most career home runs. During his professional career, Aaron performed at a consistently high level for an extended period of time. He hit 24 or more home runs every year from 1955 through 1973, and was the only player to hit 30 or more home runs in a season at least fifteen times. He was one of only four players to have at least seventeen seasons with 150 or more hits. Aaron made the All-Star team every year from 1955 until 1975 and won three Rawlings Gold Glove Awards. In 1957, he won the National League Most Valuable Player Award, while that same year, the Braves won the World Series, his one World Series victory during his career.

Aaron's consistency helped him to establish a number of important hitting records during his 23-year career. Aaron holds the MLB records for the most career runs batted in (2,297), the most career extra base hits (1,477). Hank Aaron is also in the top five for career hits with 3,771 (third) and runs with 2,174, which is tied for fourth with Babe Ruth. He also was in second place in at-bats (12,364), and in third place in games played (3,298). Aaron's nicknames include "Hammer," "Hammerin' Hank,” and "Bad Henry”.

Reviews

[Frank · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hank Aaron, the immortal home run hitter for the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves, died earlier this year (on January 22, 2021) of natural causes. Aaron was one of my boyhood idols mainly because he was one of the stars of the Braves in 1957 who defeated the dreaded New York Yankees in the World Series. When I was about 10 years old, I and my neighborhood friends were fans of the only sport that mattered back in the late 50s and early 60s: Baseball. And the Braves were our favorite team with Aaron and Eddie Mathews being our favorite players. We collected baseball cards and I wish I still had Aaron's card from 1960 but unfortunately, I must have traded it away at some point.

Every year during October and the Major League Baseball playoffs and World Series, I have tried to read something about baseball. This year, given the sad news of Aaron's death plus the fact that the Atlanta Braves are in the playoffs (they currently lead the Dodgers 3-2 and need only one more win to get into the World Series against the Houston Astros), I decided to read Aaron's autobiography that I have had in my collection for several years.

This book was published in 1991 and gives a great accounting of Aaron's long career in baseball as well as his work and activities since he retired in 1976. I remember reading a juvenile biography of Aaron (The Hank Aaron Story by Milton Shapiro) back in junior high school in the 60s. About the only thing I remember from this bio was that Aaron worked on an ice wagon when he was young which helped develop and strengthen his wrists. (I also have a copy of this old biography which I plan on rereading). Indeed, Aaron does mention working on an ice wagon in his autobiography so I guess my memory isn't totally shot! Aaron's story includes his growing up in Mobile, Alabama, and always wanting to play baseball. He eventually gets his chance by playing for the Indianapolis Clowns of the old Negro Leagues. Jackie Robinson was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947 which paved the way for Aaron and others into the big leagues. He was eventually signed by the Braves and played in their farm leagues, debuting in Milwaukee in 1954. He joined some great players on the Braves including Eddie Mathews, Del Crandall, Warren Spahn, and others. In 1957, Aaron hit a home run that put the Braves into the world series which they won against the Yankees. They returned to the series in 1958 but unfortunately could not repeat as champions. Aaron was never in another series. But he continued with his great play and of course in 1974, he exceeded Babe Ruth's all time record for home runs with his 715th. He eventually hit 755 of them setting the records until it was bested by Barry Bonds. The Braves had moved to Atlanta when Aaron was in pursuit of Ruth and surprisingly he received loads of hate mail with racist comments wanting him to retire and give up his quest for the record. This did not deter Aaron, even when his life was sometimes threatened. He went on to finish his career with some of the best stats ever including a batting average of .305, 3,771 hits, 2,297 RBIs, and 6,856 total bases which is still the major league record.

Throughout Aaron's career, although he was a reserved and quiet individual, he pursued equal rights for blacks and other minorities in the game of baseball. When he was a player back in the 50s and early 60s, Jim Crow laws were still in effect. Aaron and other blacks could not eat at the same restaurants or stay at the same hotels as the white players. This was an incentive for him to be active in the civil rights movement and trying to help blacks in baseball. He was disappointed that blacks were not made managers or put in positions within team organizations. Frank Robinson eventually was made manager of the Cleveland Indians but up until the writing of his biography, Aaron was still fighting for minority positions in baseball. Aaron himself was put into a high position within the Atlanta organization after Ted Turner bought the team but it was a long time coming.

I really enjoyed this biography of Aaron and I'm hoping the Braves make it to the World Series this year (they have a history of choking in recent years). I'll probably be reading some other baseball bios in the meantime. Go Braves!!

[will · Rating 4 out of 5]

i read this when i was much younger and in the middle of an intense fascination with early african-american baseball players (tell me james "cool papa" bell didn't have the coolest nickname ever). i'll be the first to admit, this is first and foremost a baseball story. so if you're not "into" baseball, you might find it forgettable. but, particularly in the wake of recent scandals and broken records, i think hank aaron's story transcends sports.

while it might seem cliche, this book talks about his childhood in impoverished mobile, alabama (hitting bottle caps with broomsticks and holding the "bat" the wrong way because nobody ever showed him how to hit). it follows him through the minor leagues as he makes his way to the major leagues. and, of course, it follows as he chases history in the form of babe ruth's career home run record.

the saddest, best, and most poignant element of this book is in the form of several letters he received during his later career, when it became obvious he was going to at least near if not break ruth's beloved record. while there were a few voices of support, the majority of people were writing to passively (ask him how they were to explain to their grandkids that a black man broke babe ruth's great record, that ruth's record is sacred and should intentionally never be broken, etc.) or aggressively (threaten to smuggle guns into stadiums and kill him on the field if he were to near the record, threaten his family) ask him not to do what many thought was impossible.

[Luke Koran · Rating 5 out of 5]

For many of us privileged to still be living here on this good Earth, we have never had the honor in seeing the immortal Hank Aaron play the game of baseball. We have never seen Hammerin' Hank knock one of his iconic 755 home runs out of the ballpark. Yes, his 715 home run - the swing that ended Babe Ruth's reign as the Home Run King in 1974 - is a moment that has been engrained in many avid baseball fans' minds (including the youth) through the replaying of that historic video at various moments every year. However, aside from that instance, many of the younger generations likely only know of Hank Aaron through his annual appearance at the World Series when he distributes the Hank Aaron Award to the greatest hitter in each league during that particular season. The fact that millions only know of Aaron as this frail elderly man and believes that he receives a standing ovation merely because he reigned as the Home Run King for over 30 years is a travesty. The whole world needs to know all about the man who was, indeed, born with "a hammer." When each one of you come to this realization, I highly suggest that you begin your search here. Here lies the full-length autobiography, the very words of Henry Aaron himself. From his childhood upbringing to his 20+ year long baseball career, and culminating with his upper management position with the Atlanta Braves, Aaron reveals everything you ever wanted to know about his story. Aaron speaks candidly regarding his early playing years, which brought plenty of instances of racism. Even in the 1973 off-season, when he was only one homer away from tying Ruth's record, Aaron received thousands of pieces of hate mail, which often made derogatory remarks purely centered on his skin color. For the first time, the public gets an in-depth look into how Aaron battled that intense wave of backlash, and how it felt when he finally dethroned Ruth.

Here is one of the great autobiographies produced by one of the greatest baseball players of all time. All the greats don't always produce an autobiography, let alone an authorized biography. But Hank Aaron did. His story should be known throughout the world. And I am honored to have read it.

[Deacon Tom (Feeling Better) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a real baseball fan. So, this book touched my baseball spots all the way.

It was beautifully written. This book covers so many topics, it is virtually impossible to consider it just a sports biography.”

[Trevor Seigler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Henry Aaron broke the home-run record set by Babe Ruth at a time when the thought of a Black man doing anything that a white man had done was considered impossible and unwarranted by bigots. He faced a stream of racist attacks in the mail and threats against his life and the lives of those he loved, and even after he broke the record in 1974 he had to live with second-guessing every time he took a stand for social justice and for the rights of Black players to be more than just on the field in baseball. When he passed away in 2021, he was rightly hailed as the man who broke Ruth's record of all-time home runs, but he was much more than that.

"I Had a Hammer," co-written with Lonnie Wheeler, is Aaron's story from his own mouth, and as honest and unflinching a memoir as a former athlete is likely to write. It was originally published in 1991 (this edition is a reissue from 2007), and I actually had a paperback of that book (I was a huge Braves fan in my youth), but I never got far into it. Having read Howard Bryant's brilliant biography of Aaron last year, I came across this and decided I'd read it.

Henry Aaron was one of the second generation Black stars in the world of professional baseball, though he did get his start in the Negro Leagues just prior to entering MLB in the early Fifties. He came up with the (then) Milwaukee Braves, winning a championship with them in the World Series of 1957 and almost repeating in 1958. But it was his pursuit of Babe Ruth's all-time home-run record that came to define him, and the book is at its best when highlighting the tension and stress such a pursuit put on Aaron, especially when dealing with the sort of hate mail that's faithfully reproduced here in the book. Reading these letters is horrifying, but essential to understand why Aaron's achievement was so monumental, and what it meant for a Black man to surpass a record that had been set when Black players weren't allowed to share the same field as white players. Aaron talks again and again about how much Black players like himself and Willie Mays, Ernie Banks, and Bob Gibson brought to the game once Jackie Robinson broke the color line in 1947.

Aaron pulls no punches in describing his childhood in the segregated South, growing up in Mobile, Alabama, at a time when Blacks could not sit in the front of city buses nor share facilities with whites. His anger is palpable and understandable some forty years after the fact, and I would think if he'd written a sequel to this book before his death, little would encourage him to think we've grown more tolerant as a nation. I feel particularly drawn to this book because Aaron is willing to hold major league baseball, and America, to task for the continued disadvantages that people of color face in this country. As Aaron himself notes, his position as the all-time home run leader (up until Barry Bonds broke the record) puts him in the position to have more listeners than if he was just Henry Aaron, private citizen.

This is a fantastic book and a chronicle of a life lived under some unkind circumstances. Tragedy isn't absent from Aaron's narrative (the loss of a child right after birth, the death of his brother Tommie just as he's on his way towards managing a major league club, etc.), as well as the horrible trauma of racism. But Henry Aaron never flinched from a struggle, moral or sports-related, and his status as one of the all-time greats is less about the records he broke as it is the barriers he broke. "I Had a Hammer" is an honest, unsparing account of a life lived in the spotlight of sports immortality, and a very compelling read from start to finish.

[Beth Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this after loving Jackie Robinson's autobiography and it was the perfect follow-up book. There is so much to love about Hank Aaron, and I really related to him as a baseball player in so many ways. He was not a showman or a glory hog, but quiet and steady, always working to make himself the best he could be. He was committed to being a role model for other Black players in the game, and understood that his celebrity status gave him a voice that he could use for good.

The amount of hate mail and threats that came his way leading up to breaking Babe Ruth's record was absolutely devastating and horrific. The death threats against himself and his family were the worst. And he suffered mostly in silence, until letting it slip to a reporter. Once people heard what was happening, much of the hate mail stopped and many positive and encouraging letters began to arrive. He received 930,000 pieces of mail the year he broke the record!!

This is definitely a book for baseball fans; much of this book was play by play from specific games that Aaron played in. As a baseball lover, I mostly just soaked it all in, though some of the early games were less exciting for me, and it certainly added to the length of this book.

On the whole, I see Hank Aaron's story as a compelling and important book. I really appreciated studying the racial history of America yet again through the lens of baseball.

[Jamie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm a lifelong Braves fan. I remember going to Fulton-County Stadium and gazing at the 715 sign in awe. I think Hank Aaron is likely one of the greatest 5 position players to ever play the game. I also know that he suffered great injustices, not only from the prevailing racism of the time, but also with unfavorable comparisons to the big market Mantle and Mays (he was likely better than both).

That being said, I thought this book was repetitive, long, hectoring, and self-righteous. Aaron confuses the reader at several turns. In one breath, he's not interested in managing the Braves, the next minute he's half-heartedly lobbying for the position. Once he is passed over for another candidate, he complains bitterly about racism and derides the process. Throughout the book, he talks at length about his long-running open feud with racist Atlanta and how he prefers Milwaukee. Moreover, during his last game in Atlanta, he refuses to do a curtain call for fans because he is upset over the lack of attendance. Yet, he's then upset when Atlanta votes Dale Murphy as the 'favorite Brave' in a poll conducted in the 1980s (Murphy's heyday).

This is a book about one of the greatest players to ever play the game. I'm in awe of some of the baseball feats, especially given the backdrop of what he endured from Jim Crow America. That being said, Aaron comes off as a bitter man, a victim with few flaws, beyond reproach due to the racial injustices that he endured. A very complex story that I was not expecting.

[Tom Gase · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've actually read this book 4 or 5 times in my life with the gap between now and the first time about 30 years. Still as powerful now as the first time I read. A great chronicle of Aaron's life, but the best part of the book is the second half when Aaron gets closer to the home run record of 714 at that time held by Babe Ruth. The last 100 pages or so can be difficult to read at times due to the hate mail Aaron received, but it's important to know what he went through to hit what is likely the most important home run of all time. In my opinion the best book on the greatest baseball player of all time.

[Jeff Dawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

All I can say about Hank Aaron, s a lesser man would have quit baseball do to all the racism and bigotry he endured during his career and his quest to be the best hitter in baseball. That was single driving force and it was not a bed of roses.

As child of the sixties and seventies, I remember following his quest to break Ruth’s record. I was excited to say the least. However, that wasn’t the sentiment of the Deep South. I heard rumors of the death threats against him, but to read some of the foul letters he received, I wonder, what happened to those bigots so full of hate for a man who was only doing his job.

One of the best parts of this work is the players he faced against and played with. Talk about a walk down memory, Hall of Fame walk. It was outstanding. You name the greats of the 50’s, 60’ and early 70’s and he knew or came in contact with them a t one time or another.

I could go on and on with this review, but that would spoil it for readers.

If you are a baseball fan, this is a must read!

Five Stars!

[B Sarv · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was watching the night Al Downing (#44) of the Los Angeles Dodgers threw the fateful pitch that allowed Hank Aaron (#44) to break Ruth's record. His description of the night he broke the record brought tears to my eyes with the fond memory of my family sitting in front of the television to experience this moment.

This book was a beautiful outline of the life of one of my baseball heroes and it exposed me to baseball history I never knew. I am so grateful to have read this book. Any lifetime baseball fan, especially those of my Baby Boomer generation, should read this book.

Most importantly this book highlighted the injustices and struggles African-American athletes endured in order to play this great game. In this book Hank Aaron testifies about his first-hand experiences, and his story is a real tribute to all the other African-American players from the time of the segregated "Negro Leagues" to his retirement. His words can be extrapolated to today and they can hone one's observations of all the interactions among owners, players and the league.

[Aaronmac · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a long read, but a worthwhile one. As a baseball fan and a Braves fan, it was an interesting read. But, it was his powerful story of enduring discrimination and advocating for something different that kept me most engaged and appreciative of this book.

[Matt Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

only one Homerun King and he has a lot of good things to say

[Drew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easily one of the best autobiographies I’ve read. The stories are excellent and the guest voices are gold.

[Chickens McShitterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a busy three weeks, so I didn’t get to spend a lot of time with Hank some days.
Greatest hitter of all time. Product of the Negro Leagues (albeit for only a few months). A prodigious athlete of immense capability and champion of civil rights. Again, greatest hitter of all time, and with Willie Mays, the best all around baseball player of all time. No question. No argument. Some of his records will never be beaten...and I still consider him the home run champ.

[Jake · Rating 5 out of 5]

Years ago, I used to watch the painfully obnoxious sports commentary show Around the Horn while waiting for Tony and Mike to duke it out on Pardon the Interruption. ATH has since incorporated much better guests, and host Tony Reali is a prince of a guy, but at the time, it was just a bunch of white guys whining about Barry Bonds and tongue bathing Brett Favre. During yet another Bonds session, one of the guys, I think it was Bill Plaschke, contrasted Bonds with Hank Aaron, the man he was chasing for the home run crown, in which he referred to Aaron as “dignified.”

Plaschke (I think it was him, please don’t sue me if it wasn’t) was doing the typical racist juxtaposition white people do between what they consider which Black people are good and which are not. Aaron was one who was considered good and was often given the label “dignified” in conversation. However, no one really made it clear why Aaron was “dignified.” He was a stoic with the press, he was fun but not bombastic like Babe Ruth or graceful like Willie Mays, two players he chased and was compared to. He spoke on civil rights but would never be confused with Muhammad Ali. Ignored and belittled by the white media for most of his career, Aaron now gets the “dignified” label because people don’t know what else to make of him.

Welp, the answers are right in his stellar autobiography.

Hank Aaron was (may he rest in peace) a complex person like all of us. He experienced racism in the south and it impacted future interactions, although he had plenty of white friends and would trust white teammates and power brokers if they acted in good faith towards him. He had faith in God but he wasn’t as devout as someone like Reggie White. He sought to challenge the Babe in part to represent his race and also because he had the confidence he could do it. All of this is covered in his book.

Writers often treated Aaron like a cipher because they didn’t want to grapple with the complex reality of racism that allowed them the power to define Aaron’s career for the public (white) narrative. It’s much easier to call him “dignified.” I don’t think the word pops up once in his bio. Instead, what I read was the personal story of a man who was very proud of his career, very disappointed in the organization that controlled his livelihood for most of it, and who sought to advance the cause of civil rights in the best ways that he could. Aaron is candid about the ways he did this, the ways he interacted with other people, the way he played the game.

It’s a great read for baseball fans, for folks who want to learn more about how sports interacts with civil rights, or who want to know who Hank Aaron was beyond the patter of keyboard gate keepers who don’t go past the surface.

[Brett T · Rating 4 out of 5]

A 2014 article in Slate tallks about how the early civil rights movement was driven by a desire for what author Tanner Colby calls "agency." African-Americans, he said, desired most of all to be able to live their lives as they chose, live where they chose, drink from whatever water fountains they chose, eat at whatever restaurants they chose, and so on. A push for such agency in education, however, was thwarted when the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case resulted in the closure of African-American schools and the shipping of their students to integrate previously white schools.

Whether or not Colby is right about the impact of busing and integration, his description of a desire for agency can be seen clearly in Hank Aaron's 1990 autobiography, co-written with Lonnie Wheeler, I Had a Hammer. Aaron, born in Alabama and subject to segregation through the first part of his baseball career and vicious racism as he closed in on Babe Ruth's home run record in 1973 and 1974, uses the metaphor of a hammer to describe his bat and what he accomplished with it -- both on the field and off. The title plays on the old folk song, "If I Had a Hammer."

Aaron actually began his career in the Negro Leagues, helping the Indianapolis Clowns win a title in 1952, and was one of the last African-American stars to play in the Negro Leagues before signing with a major league team. With their major stars no longer prevented from signing with major league teams, the Negro League teams were already declining and soon to disappear. The then-Boston Braves (coincidentally, the last team for which Babe Ruth made a major league appearance, in 1935) signed him to a minor-league contract in 1953, but they had moved to Milwaukee before he was called up in 1954. Aaron spent the next 20 years with the Braves, moving with them to Atlanta in 1965. The Braves traded him to the Milwaukee Brewers in 1975, and Aaron retired after the 1976 season ended.

Hammer spends a good amount of time describing the segregation and racism Aaron faced during early years on Southern minor-league teams -- frequently not being allowed to stay at the hotel with the team or eat in the restaurants where they dined. He describes assumptions made about his character because of his race -- sportswriters would call him a "natural hitter" rather than discuss how Aaron spent long hours reviewing opposing pitchers and their habits in given situations. The overt character of the racism he confronted waxed and waned over his career -- it increased when the Braves moved to Atlanta but by that time his own stature as a player had increased and insulated him from some of what he had faced earlier. It also follows up on Aaron's professional and public service work after his playing career ended. One of the first African-Americans to serve in upper management of a major league team, he used his position and influence -- his "hammer" -- to work against cultural prejudices as well as the remnants of legal racism in baseball and in the Atlanta community.

Hammer ends in 1990, so a reader wanting to know more about Aaron's life since then, including his thoughts on Barry Bonds' breaking of his home run mark and other issues connected to the steroid era, should seek out Howard Bryant's 2010 The Last Hero: A Life of Henry Aaron.

Now in his 80s, Hank Aaron wielded his hammer and bore its weight both on and off the field with purpose, strength and grace. Baseball is certainly the better for his having played it, but baseball is not alone in that benefit.

Original available here

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Hank Aaron! I love the Braves! I love baseball!

About the book, I will make no comment.

[Edwin Ortiz · Rating 5 out of 5]

A MUST READ baseball biography ..

Henry Aaron one of the very great baseball
Players of all time details his trials and tribulations in a fascinating book. The book is important and should be required reading by all.

[Steve Schmitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are numerous reasons why I would want to read this book. 1. I'm a lifelong Atlanta Braves fan. 2. Hank Aaron broke the HR record 1 month after I was born. 3. I took a History of Baseball course in college and love the history, and statistics of the game. Yet, none of these are the reasons why I picked it up. I picked it up because a news report that said books about Major League Heroes such as Henry Aaron and Roberto Clemente were in danger of being banned by authorities in Duval County, Florida. (Jacksonville area). One of these is a children's book about Hank Aaron. Why? No reason for the review of these materials has been given.

This book was amazing. I thought I knew a lot about Hammerin' Hank, but I knew very little. The book covers his time on the only field he was allowed to play on in Mobile, Alabama to his time as an executive in the Atlanta Braves organization when the book was published in 1991. Throughout it all, Aaron was an amazing hitter, thinking through each at bat, analyzing each pitcher. He racked up hits, RBIs, and Home Runs at an amazing clip until seemingly out of nowhere he was closing in on the record held for almost 40 years by Babe Ruth. That's when things got dark.

I knew there was hate mail. I knew racism plagued baseball more than any other sport. Jackie Robinson's name is revered in sports history because he broke the baseball color barrier. But, I just read the names of the men who did the same in the NFL and NBA and I don't remember them. I had no idea that it made Henry Aaron almost resent having to play in Atlanta. Some of the letters he received are printed in the book, and I can see why. The ugliness of people is astounding, but the fact that every one of them thought it was ok just because Mr. Aaron was black should add another level to hell. For the most part the city of Atlanta just ignored it. They only showed up to games when he was close to breaking the record, and stopped after the chase was over. I remember watching the chase take place when Barry Bonds broke the record and the stadium was always standing room only, and the debate about whether Bonds is the legitimate champ will always remain.

I think everyone should hear this story. Whether they read the book, or someone teaches it as a lesson. I think they should hear it before they even pick up a baseball bat or throw a ball. Some will say the books are under review because of the ages they are intended for, but I disagree. There were children of all ages in the stands back then, and their parents and grandparents had no problem calling out those disgusting names, and teaching them that racism was ok. Maybe, we should be teaching children today that it's not.

Also, one thing I didn't know...Henry Aaron started his minor league career with the Jacksonville Braves. He, along with two teammates, integrated that league. Maybe, we have some folks that remember what happened back then, and don't want to have to relive what their own parents or grandparents were saying and doing. I can't prove any of that, but....

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gave this three stars after reading, but bumped it up to 4 when writing this review, because I think it's important enough to deserve it. This is a really open and honest telling of his Black life and experience, and tells a great story about baseball, and America, at the same time. It's just that it felt dated, felt repetitive, and surprisingly, felt too baseball-focused, really down in the nitty gritty of old games (which usually I would enjoy?). Anyway, for a combo of those reasons it didn't totally work for me, but I'm still very glad I read it.

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a much better book than I anticipated, with a lot more depth and emotion than a typical "as told to" baseball biography. Written in about 1990, it shows the growing equality of baseball and the nation at the time, but with the horrible racism of prior decades fully fresh in Hank Aaron's mind. Reading what Aaron and his fellow Black players had to go through, the Black Lives Matter movement of today makes a lot more sense. This book sets the record straight, both on the lives of Black players in the 1950s-1970s and also on Aaron's rather outspoken role in arguing for fairness and dignity for himself and his peers.

On top of this, the book reveals Aaron to be proud, prickly, and defensive. It's to his credit that he shows himself, warts and all, in an authorized biography. He says that he's not a good talker, but mostly a listener. He alludes to faults that led to the dissolution of his marriage with four young kids. He complains about his lack of attention compared to Willie Mays and even to lesser teammates like Rico Carty, as he (Aaron) wasn't good at playing the PR game. And he rattles off the reasons that he thinks he's the greatest hitter who ever lived, as if the reader is arguing with him in a bar. I like these insights a lot.

At one level, this book is a biography of a great baseball player's career. Hank Aaron retired as baseball's all-time leader in home runs, runs scored, total bases and (I think) runs batted in. There's no question he was one of the greatest hitters ever, with a longevity of quality production that has never been matched. However, he was taken for granted for most of his career, as his play was not flashy, his team locations were dull (Milwaukee and Atlanta), and he rarely led the league in any category. And then, suddenly, when he approached Babe Ruth's home run record and subsequently passed it, he was for a time the most famous man in America. Hank Aaron was one of those overnight successes like a singer who has a top song, but who really built his success over 20 years, though few people had been noticing.

The book chronicles Aaron season-by-season, from his youth, to a year in the Negro Leagues during its last dying days, to the role of a Black minor leaguer integrating a Georgia-Florida system, to his role on the great Milwaukee Braves teams of the late 1950s, to his yearly stardom as the team declined in the 1960s and eventually moved to Atlanta. And then the frenzy as he approached Babe Ruth's record.

The season chronicles are interesting because Aaron gives snapshots of players on his team and top opponents, with brief, telling anecdotes. And these aren't always kind. He talks about the obvious and the subtle racism of people like Warren Spahn on his team, or opposing pitchers who threw at him. He writes about which managers supported the Black players, literally by eating with them in kitchens when they weren't allowed in restaurants, and which managers and players were indifferent to the cruelty. Aaron praises Eddie Matthews, another of baseball's underappreciated stars, and he tries to rehabilitate the image of his brother, Tommie, who was a lousy major leaguer but a very promising manager until his early death from disease. Aaron isn't afraid to name names, either of people who were not supportive, or of those kept Black athletes down through measures such as limiting the number of Black players on the field at one time, or of keeping the aging White guy on the bench instead of the younger, slightly better Black guy.

The way this book is structured is unusual, and it works well for the telling of the anecdotes. The author says he interviewed more than 100 people, and it shows. Basically, Aaron will have relayed some type of story about his experience, and then the author will track down someone affiliated with that experience, who will verify it and amplify on some aspects. This has the effect of reinforcing the truth of Aaron's stories -- and this is very important both in a baseball book (because baseball is full of tall tales and half-remembered events) and in a racial sense (because the things Aaron describes are hard to believe, until you have others verifying them). This format keeps the book at a crisp pace, but also with depth because you get the same story from multiple angles (like Faulkner, though I'm not comparing this to Faulkner in any way).

Among the most interesting anecdotes are those I mentioned about what it was like in the Negro Leagues, and the early racism Aaron and others endured in the minors. I knew that stuff, but it's told well here. Aaron's love for Milwaukee's fans was a surprise to me, and he really does seem to be describing a golden era of baseball in the lats-50s/early-60s.

I also found illuminating the description of how he went from being a high-average hitter -- some people, Aaron included, thought he might be able to hit .400 for a season -- to a home run hitter by lofting the ball slightly more. Along with that, Aaron states over and over again that he spent a lot of time studying pitchers and thinking about how he would hit them. He contrasts this with the racism of sportswriters of the time -- singling out Dick Young -- for stating that Aaron was just a natural hitter who didn't think at all at the plate. He even reprints some sections of their dialect-strewn columns that make him out to be an ignorant savant who "jes' sees de ball and hits it." And again, he backs this up with quotes from teammates and opposing pitchers, who knew that he knew what he was doing.

A final note. This book is a bit of a one-note on racism, and towards the end I got a little tired of it. Aaron shares 20 or 30 letters of hate mail he received while chasing Ruth's record. The "N word" is in most of them. This is shocking and horrible, but I didn't need to see 30 of them. Four would have gotten the point across. The same thing as Aaron describes his back-forth with the Braves management late in his career and early in retirement as he took a front office job. Aaron wanted to make sure it was a real job, not a publicity stunt, and it's clear he took it seriously. It's also clear that outsiders (sportswriters) viewed him as a front man, not a thinker. I get that Aaron wanted to set the record straight. But it could have been done more briefly.

In sum, this book holds up very well even 30 years after publication. As Hank Aaron observes, he played across a crucial era, with the transition to having Black players in baseball established by the time he joined the Braves, but with the kinks far from worked out. He played through the socially tumultuous 1960s, often speaking on racial matters. And when he got a national platform in 1973-74 with his pursuit of Babe Ruth, he didn't hesitate to speak out more. He did baseball and our nation a great service, and this book lays out his case for being remembered for a long time.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the better sports autobiographies I've read. It has an interesting style in that each chapter begins with a couple of pages written by the professional writer assisting Aaron, providing an outside description of the era in his life to be discussed. Also interspersed throughout the narrative are direct quotes from people in Aaron's life that relate to what Aaron is writing about. It makes for some interesting added perspective to the story and adds a touch of biography into the autobiography. Aaron write this at age 57 when he was working in the Atlanta Braves' front office, just before the Braves started taking off as a team winning multiple division championships and pennants with teams that had players Aaron had a hand in scouting. He describes his early years in Mobile, Alabama, and the challenges of being the first black player in the southern minor league known as the Sally League. Though this was eight years after Jackie Robinson integrated baseball, racism was still rampant, and Aaron doesn't shy away from discussing it throughout the book, especially toward the end where he decries the lack of African-Americans in administrative positions in baseball (general managers, scouting directors, etc.) Aaron describes his chase of Babe Ruth's homerun record in the early 1970s, a time which should have been exciting and rewarding but which was made horrible by people who could not deal with a black man breaking baseball's most hallowed record set by its most hallowed personality. Aaron's story is one of great accomplishment, emphasizing the importance of commitment, hard work and teamwork. But it is also a story tinged with the sadness of racism throughout.

[Sandra Randall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love baseball. But more than that, I am so very interested in how we as humans, got where we are today. Hank Aaron's life is important, not because he was a great baseball player. That part is the icing on the cake for fans. No, he is important because he lived. His life, like so many other black lives, is integral to the history of America. An America I did not learn about in school. The America I hunger to know. America, the good, the bad, and the ugly. I'm tired of the colonizer point of view and I want to know the people that really built this country. The people we hide our white children from. The people whose voices we close our ears and minds and refuse to hear; the black, the brown, the indigenous, the immigrant, the slave, the destitute. Those who, against the odds, made their mark in the history of America. Hank Aaron's story, is but one in a million, but it is important.

[Alger Smythe-Hopkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wasn't especially impressed by this book, although I do admire Mr Aaron and his abilities on the field, and his commitment to establishing equality. The book is competently ghost written, even if it underplays some of Aaron's remarkable accomplishments.

Nope I am giving this better than average biography of an icon 5-stars to re-balance the score after the string of average white guys who rated this book down because of Aaron's 'anger' at the fact that he and everyone else who is non-White gets judged and given opportunities on that basis alone. If you can't get mad about racial idiocy (like denying Aaron his anger on this issue) then what is worthy?

My actual rating is close to 4 stars anyway, so not too much inflation.

[John Kaufmann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably a 3.5. I gave it 3-stars instead of 4 to distinguish it from the better The Last Hero: A Life of Henry Aaron. I read this one first and thoroughly enjoyed it. It covers the indignities and discrimination he faced all through his career, but especially in his early years. It covers his years with the Braves, his two World Series, and the race to Babe Ruth's record. However, it didn't do as thorough a job as The Last Hero in using Aaron's background and experiences as the context to delve into his personality in some depth.

[Tristan Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent t book for the best home run hitter of all time. I learned so much about hank in this book as well as the growth of baseball. Hank is a big part of where baseball is today and it was fun learning about eve th ything he had accomplished on and off the feild.

Second time reading it:
This book is such a great way to get excited for baseball season. Reading about the best home run hitter of all time in an era where everything was against him. He does a great job of not holding back any punches and telling his story how it is from both sides and sharing the stressful and enduring feat of passing Babe Ruth’s all time home run record.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is amazing. It should be a required read for anyone who has forgotten what the United States was like just a short 50 years ago, what kind of sharp racism Aaron faced throughout his twenty years, and what that means for the legacy of Americans. Baseball fans, people interested in social justice, and all inbetween should read this book about the man who broke Babe Ruth's record.

[Jaime · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the softcover of this years ago and reread it again recently. Henry Aaron was an honorable man, a terrific baseball player and a wonderful humanitarian. He valued his privacy and loved his family. I will always admire him for his bravery and nobility in the face of racism.

[Corey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have never read, or even tried to read a full book cover to cover, and not once did I lose Hank Aaron's attention in the autobiography "I Had a Hammer: The Hank Aaron Story" I am a huge baseball fan and I can say this is a great read for any fan.

[Todd Friars · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just okay from a writing aspect but the book provides great insights and prospective on the difficulties and poor treatment on being a black baseball player in the 1950’s and 1960’s. The treatment of Hank Aaron as he approached and the set the all time home run record is still very troubling.