Baseball player and executive, born in Mobile, Alabama, USA. Baseball’s all-time home-run king, he played 23 years as an outfielder for the Milwaukee (later Atlanta) Braves and Milwaukee Brewers (1954–76). He holds many of baseball’s most distinguished records, including most lifetime runs batted in (2297), most years with 30 or more home runs (15), 1477 extra-base hits, 6856 total bases, and most career home runs (755). Breaking the latter record, baseball’s most venerable since Babe Ruth retired with 714 home runs in 1935, was both a triumph and a trial for Aaron. He was beseiged by the media and badgered by racist letter-writers who resented him breaking Ruth’s record. A complete player whose skills were never fully appreciated until he broke the record in 1974, he was voted the National League’s Most Valuable Player only once (1957). After retiring as a player, he moved into the Atlanta Braves front office as executive vice-president, where he has been a leading spokesman for minority hiring in baseball. He was elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame in 1982. His autobiography, I Had a Hammer, was published in 1990. In 1999, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of breaking Ruth’s record, Major League Baseball announced the Hank Aaron Award, given annually to the best overall hitter in each league. He was honoured with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2002.