HAMMER FROM ALABAMA
Hank Aaron was born in Mobile, Alabama, on February 5, 1934. That matters to me. I am from Alabama too, and when you come from this soil, you understand the weight a place can carry. Alabama gives you beauty and burden at the same time. It can shape giants, and it can test them. Hank Aaron carried both realities with amazing strength.
He grew up in the segregated South, learning baseball with no formal fields, no polish, no promises. Just raw talent, discipline, and a love for the game. Alabama did not hand him opportunity easily, but it gave him grit. That grit followed him all the way to the major leagues, where he would become one of the greatest players who ever lived.
Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s home run record in 1974, finishing his career with 755 home runs, a record that stood for more than three decades. He still holds marks that may never be touched: over 2,200 runs batted in, more than 6,800 total bases, and 25 All-Star appearances. He was not flashy. He was consistent. Night after night, year after year, excellence with a bat in his hands and dignity in his bearing.
The only negative thing that can be said about his career is that he played for Atlanta—but I’m selfishly speaking as a Yankees fan, so we will let that go.
But let’s get serious. Hank’s greatness cannot be told honestly without naming the racism he endured. As he approached Ruth’s record, Aaron received thousands of hate letters. Some threatened his life. Others told him to stay in his place. He needed protection from the FBI. Think about that. A man chasing a baseball record in America needed federal protection because of the color of his skin. He later said the experience nearly broke his love for the game.
And yet, he kept swinging.
That is what adversity produced in Hank Aaron. Not bitterness. Not retaliation. Perseverance. Courage that did not shout but endured. He answered hatred with performance. He let his work speak when others tried to silence him. There is something deeply Christian in that posture, even if it never made headlines.
Hank Aaron never forgot where he came from. He invested in communities, advocated for civil rights, and opened doors for others in baseball long after his playing days were done. He carried Alabama with him, not as an apology, but as a testimony that something good, something righteous, can come from a place with a painful history.
For those of us from Alabama, Hank Aaron is not just a sports legend. He is proof that our story does not have to end where it began. That faithfulness matters. That steady obedience, even under pressure, leaves a mark that lasts longer than records.
He was a hammer, yes. But he was also a witness.
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Lord, thank You for lives that show strength without cruelty and courage without pride. Teach us to endure with grace, to answer injustice with faithfulness, and to leave behind a legacy that honors truth, dignity, and love. Amen.
BDD
