Hank Aaron had a lot of praise and thanks for Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier during his Hall of Fame acceptance speech in 1982. He shares his memories and experiences with Jackie in this episode.

Henry “Hank” Aaron broke into professional baseball in 1951 for the Indianapolis Clowns. One year later, the 18 year old helped the team with the Negro League’s World Series. One year later, Aaron was playing for the Boston Braves, who later moved to Milwaukee. These were not easy times for black baseball players and Aaron will never forget Jackie Robinson’s contribution to breaking down the color barrier and the impact it had on his life.

Hank Aaron
Aaron in 2013
Right fielder
Born: February 5, 1934 (age 83) Mobile, Alabama
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 13, 1954, for the Milwaukee Braves
Last MLB appearance
October 3, 1976, for the Milwaukee Brewers
MLB statistics
Batting average	.305
Hits	3,771
Home runs	755
Runs batted in	2,297
Teams
Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves (1954–1974) Milwaukee Brewers (1975–1976)
Career highlights and awards
25× All-Star (1955–1975) World Series champion (1957) NL MVP (1957) 3× Gold Glove Award (1958–1960) 2× NL batting champion (1956, 1959) 4× NL home run leader (1957, 1963, 1966, 1967) 4× NL RBI leader (1957, 1960, 1963, 1966) Atlanta Braves No. 44 retired Milwaukee Brewers No. 44 retired Major League Baseball All-Century Team MLB records: 2,297 runs batted in 6,856 total bases 1,477 extra-base hits
Member of the National
Baseball Hall of Fame
Inducted	1982
Vote	97.83% (first ballot)

This episode originally aired July 20, 1987.

Smarter Podcasts.com, Delivering Sound Advice.