Honoring the life and legacy of Henry Louis Aaron.

IV 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 128 Honoring the life and legacy of Henry Louis Aaron. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 14, 2023 Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia (for himself, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. ALLEN, Mr. MCCORMICK, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. CARTER of Georgia, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Mrs. MCBATH, and Mr. FERGUSON) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability RESOLUTION Honoring the life and legacy of Henry Louis Aaron. Whereas Henry Louis ‘‘Hank’’ Aaron was born 1 of 8 chil- dren on February 5, 1934, to Herbert Aaron, Sr., and Estella (Pritchett) Aaron in Mobile, Alabama; Whereas Mr. Aaron grew up during the height of Jim Crow and segregation and faced racism and discrimination from a young age, including from the stands while play- ing in the South as a minor league baseball player early in his baseball career; Whereas Mr. Aaron began his baseball career as a teenager in the Negro leagues, first playing for the Prichard Ath- letics, then the Mobile Black Bears, before being signed VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:02 Feb 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR128.IH HR128 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HRES 128 IH by the Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro American League; Whereas, in 1952, Mr. Aaron was signed by the Boston Braves, who assigned him to play in the minor league for their Northern League farm team, the Eau Claire Bears, where he made the Northern League’s All-Star team and was unanimously named Rookie of the Year; Whereas, in 1953, Mr. Aaron was promoted to play for the South Atlantic League affiliate of the Braves, the Jack- sonville Braves, as one of the league’s first Black players, where he immediately helped the team win the league championship and won the South Atlantic League’s Most Valuable Player Award; Whereas, in 1954, Mr. Aaron was invited to attend spring training with the Milwaukee Braves and signed his first Major League Baseball contract on the final day of Braves spring training, making his Major League Base- ball debut against the Cincinnati Reds and hitting his first Major League Baseball home run on April 23, 1954; Whereas Mr. Aaron won his first batting title in 1956 and was voted the National League’s Most Valuable Player in 1957, helping the Braves win their first pennant in Mil- waukee and leading the Braves to a 1957 World Series victory against the New York Yankees; Whereas, in 1966, Mr. Aaron moved with the Braves to At- lanta, Georgia, and went on to play 23 seasons in Major League Baseball, all but his final 2 seasons with the Braves in Milwaukee and then Atlanta; Whereas, on April 4, 1974, Mr. Aaron tied Babe Ruth’s home run record by hitting home run number 714 in a VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:02 Feb 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR128.IH HR128 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HRES 128 IH game against the Cincinnati Reds on his first swing of the season; Whereas, on the evening of April 8, 1974, Mr. Aaron made history by breaking Babe Ruth’s record when he hit home run number 715 against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, cementing his place in history as the Nation’s home run king; Whereas, during the historic moment, veteran baseball broad- caster Vin Scully announced, ‘‘What a marvelous moment for baseball. What a marvelous moment for Atlanta and the State of Georgia. What a marvelous moment for the country and the world. A Black man is getting a stand- ing ovation in the Deep South for breaking a record of an all-time baseball idol.’’; Whereas Mr. Aaron went on to hit 755 home runs in his ca- reer, a home run record that went unbroken for more than 30 years, with his final home run coming on July 20, 1976; Whereas, at the time of his passing, Mr. Aaron held the Major League Baseball records for the most career runs batted in (2,297), extra base hits (1,477), and total bases (6,856); Whereas, at the time of his passing, Mr. Aaron was 1 of only 4 players to have at least 17 seasons with 150 or more hits, was in second place for most in home runs and at- bats (12,364), and was in third place for most games played (3,298) and hits (3,771); Whereas, in addition to his records, Mr. Aaron achieved nu- merous career highlights and awards, including— VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:02 Feb 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR128.IH HR128 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HRES 128 IH (1) becoming the ninth player to achieve the 3,000 hit milestone and the first player to achieve both 500 home runs and 3,000 hits; (2) being a 2-time National League batting cham- pion; (3) winning the National League’s single-season home run title 4 times; (4) achieving a career batting average of .305; (5) being voted an All-Star in all but his first and last seasons; and (6) winning 3 Gold Glove awards for his play as a right fielder; Whereas Mr. Aaron achieved these milestones while bravely facing racism at every stage of his historic career, includ- ing being barred from hotels where his minor league White teammates stayed, receiving many racist letters and threats, and even needing protection from law en- forcement at games to protect against racist violence or harassment; Whereas Mr. Aaron accomplished a stellar career without the use of steroids or other performance enhancing drugs, and played the game of baseball with the highest stand- ard of integrity; Whereas during his career, Mr. Aaron became a national symbol for perseverance by demonstrating athletic great- ness and strength while enduring vicious racism and hate, helping advance the cause for civil rights and be- coming a civic leader in the Black community; Whereas, Mr. Aaron became the first Black American to hold a senior management position in Major League Baseball as a front office executive with the Atlanta Braves, sup- ported the National Association for the Advancement of VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:02 Feb 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR128.IH HR128 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HRES 128 IH Colored People (‘‘NAACP’’), and founded the Chasing the Dream Foundation to support underprivileged youth through mentorship and financial support; Whereas, in April 1977, the Atlanta Braves retired Mr. Aar- on’s Number 44, erected a statue in his honor in 1982, and named the address of their second home, Turner Field, as 755 Hank Aaron Drive; Whereas Mr. Aaron is an integral part of Mobile, Alabama, history and has been recognized by the city through the construction of a stadium, opening of a museum, and naming of a park, in his honor; Whereas, in 1982, his first year of eligibility, Mr. Aaron was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, receiving 97.8 per- cent of the vote, the second-highest tally at the time only to Ty Cobb; Whereas, on the 25th anniversary of Mr. Aaron’s 715th home run, Major League Baseball created the Hank Aaron Award, given annually to the players with the best overall offensive performances in each league; Whereas, in 2002, Mr. Aaron received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Nation’s highest civilian award, from President George W. Bush, with the citation noting that Mr. Aaron ‘‘embodies the true spirit of our Nation’’; Whereas, in 2015, Mr. Aaron was an inaugural recipient of the Portrait of a Nation Prize from the National Portrait Gallery commemorating ‘‘exemplary achievements in the fields of civil rights, business, entertainment, science, and sports’’; Whereas, in 2022, the Library of Congress elected to pre- serve the television broadcast of Mr. Aaron’s 715th home run within the National Recording Registry as an event VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:02 Feb 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR128.IH HR128 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HRES 128 IH of great cultural, historical, or aesthetic importance in the history of the United States; and Whereas, at the time of his passing, Mr. Aaron was long re- nowned for having uplifted the Black community and im- proved human relations over his career through his tre- mendous display of dignity and long record of achieve- ment in the face of racism and hate, cementing his legacy as a leading figure for civil rights: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 (1) honors the life and legacy of Henry Louis 2 Aaron for his accomplishments on and off the base- 3 ball field, and for defying racism and breaking down 4 racial barriers in the fight for equality as one of the 5 last Major League Baseball All-Stars to have played 6 in the Negro leagues; 7 (2) proclaims that Henry Louis Aaron indeed 8 embodied the true spirit and promise of the Nation, 9 reflected the best of the determination and persever- 10 ance of the people of the United States, and exem- 11 plified the indomitable will of Black Americans to 12 overcome impossible odds to achieve greatness in the 13 face of relentless adversity and racism; and 14 (3) recognizes the life and legacy of Henry 15 Louis Aaron as an important figure in the fight for 16 civil rights, as well as one of the greatest and most 17 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:02 Feb 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR128.IH HR128 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •HRES 128 IH prolific baseball players and professional athletes of 1 the United States, of all time. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:02 Feb 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR128.IH HR128 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB