Baseball and beyond reacts to death of Hank Aaron

Atlanta Braves outfielder Hank Aaron swings a bat at home plate during spring training in 1974.

By Times staff

Jan. 22, 2021 Updated 2:08 PM PT

Baseball legend Hank Aaron has “passed away peacefully in his sleep,” according to a statement released Friday by the Atlanta Braves. A cause of death was not immediately known.

Aaron surpassed Babe Ruth’s vaunted record of 714 in 1974 and finished his career with 755 home runs. Along the way, Aaron had to endure death threats from racist baseball fans who didn’t want to see Ruth’s record broken by a Black man.

“I don’t want them to forget Ruth,” Aaron, now second to Barry Bonds (762), said at the time. “I just want them to remember me.”

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Atlanta Braves’ Hank Aaron eyes the flight of the ball after hitting his 715th career homer in a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Atlanta, Ga., in this April 8, 1974. (HARRY HARRIS/Associated Press)

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Hank Aaron tips his hat to fans and teammates greeting him at home plate after hitting a fourth inning homer against the Los Angeles Dodgers. It was a record blast, his 715th career homer. (JOE SEBO/Associated Press)

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Teammates extend their congratulations as they greet Hank Aaron at home plate after hitting his 715th career home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers, at Atlanta Stadium. (Associated Press)

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Baseball Hall of Famer Hank Aaron after receiving his COVID-19 vaccination on Jan. 5, 2021, at the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta. Aaron and others received their vaccinations in an effort to highlight the importance of getting vaccinated for Black Americans who might be hesitant to do so. (Ron Harris/Associated Press)

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Hank Aaron of the Atlanta Braves hits his 537th career home run in third inning action against the Philadelphia Phillies at Shibe Park. The home run places Aaron third among the all-time major league home run hitters, behind Mays and Ruth. (Associated Press)

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Atlanta Braves’ Hank Aaron watches the flight of the ball as he hits his 700th career home run in a game against the Philadelphia Phillies in Atlanta, Ga. (Associated Press)

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The newest addition to Hall of Fame, Hank Aaron, right, jokes with Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda prior to an Oldtimers game at Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles on Aug. 8, 1982. (Craig Molenhouse/Associated Press)

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Milwaukee Braves slugger Hank Aaron kneels in the outfield before a game, June 1957. (Associated Press)

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Atlanta Braves outfielder Hank Aaron swings a bat at home plate during spring training in March 1974. (Associated Press)

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Hank Aaron, who hit 755 career home runs in the baseball’s majors, listens to tributes to him on the stage during a celebration of his 75th birthday, Feb. 5, 2009, in Atlanta. (John Amis/Associated Press)

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Former home run record-holder and Baseball Hall of Famer Hank Aaron is awarded an honorary doctorate of humanities during commencement for the class of 2011 at Princeton University, in Princeton, N.J., for making America a better place with his “imperishable example of grace under pressure.” (Mel Evans/Associated Press)

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Hank Aaron applauds during a ceremony celebrating the 40th anniversary of his 715th home run before the start of a baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the New York Mets in Atlanta. (David Goldman/Associated Press)

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Hall of Famer Hank Aaron in Cooperstown, N.Y. (Mike Groll/Associated Press)

Here’s how one of baseball’s all-time greats is being remembered.

“Hank Aaron is near the top of everyone’s list of all-time great players,” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said. “His monumental achievements as a player were surpassed only by his dignity and integrity as a person. Hank symbolized the very best of our game, and his all-around excellence provided Americans and fans across the world with an example to which to aspire. His career demonstrates that a person who goes to work with humility every day can hammer his way into history — and find a way to shine like no other.

“Hank Aaron’s incredible talent on the baseball field was only matched by his dignity and character, which shone brightly, not only here in Cooperstown, but with every step he took,” Baseball Hall of Fame chair Jane Forbes Clark said. “ His courage while pursuing the game’s all-time home run record served as an example for millions of people inside and outside of the sports world, who were also aspiring to achieve their greatest dreams. His generosity of spirit and legendary accomplishments will live in Cooperstown forever.”

“This is a profoundly sad day for baseball and indeed for our entire country,” MLB Players Assn. executive director Tony Clark said. “On the field, off the field, for 23 remarkable playing seasons and beyond, Hank Aaron was a Hall of Famer in every sense of the phrase. Generations of players have walked, and will continue to walk, on a trail that Hank Aaron blazed with his determination, courage, singular talent and grace. We send our deepest sympathies to his family, friends and legion of fans throughout the game.”