ATLANTA — The U.S. Postal Service dedicated the Hank Aaron stamp during a ceremony on July 31 at Truist Park in Atlanta. The new stamp is now being sold at post offices nationwide and online.
“We hope this stamp serves as a reminder of Hank Aaron’s success on the baseball diamond and his work to champion equality,” said Thomas Marshall, the Postal Service’s general counsel and executive vice president, who served as the dedicating official. “Whether it’s breaking baseball’s most famous record or opening the door for future generations, Henry ‘Hammerin’ Hank’ Aaron inspires all of us to swing for the fences.”
Marshall was joined by Terry McGuirk, chairman and CEO of Braves Holdings LLC, the parent company of the Atlanta Braves and Braves Development Co.; Howard Bryant, author of “The Last Hero: A Life of Henry Aaron”; and Allan Tanenbaum, secretary, Hank Aaron Chasing the Dream Foundation, and attorney/advisor for the Aaron family.
“I’m deeply grateful for this phenomenal recognition the United States Postal Service has bestowed upon my beloved husband, Henry Louis Aaron,” said Billye Suber Aaron, widow, and chair of the Hank Aaron Chasing the Dream Foundation. “We sincerely appreciate all who join us as we honor the 50th anniversary of his historic achievement. I hope that his stamp will inspire a new generation to remember Henry for his incredible grace and determination in the face of tremendous opposition. Henry will live on forever in our hearts and minds, and to have a stamp prominently bear his likeness is an honor fitting the wonderful man we love so dearly.”
Hank Aaron’s Legacy
A giant of baseball both on and off the field, Aaron (1934-2021) rose from humble beginnings to rewrite the baseball record books while prevailing in the face of racism. Despite retiring nearly 50 years ago, Aaron still holds the record for most RBIs, total bases and Major League Baseball All-Star Game appearances while remaining in the top five in many other categories. He spent 21 years as a member of the Braves organization — first in Milwaukee, where he led the team to the 1957 World Series title — then in Atlanta, where he hit home run No. 715 on the night of April 8, 1974, one of the seminal moments in the history of the game. Aaron closed his career with the Milwaukee Brewers before being inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982.
Henry Louis Aaron was born on Feb. 5, 1934, in Mobile, AL, as the third of eight children living in a three-room house built by his father. As a boy, unable to afford equipment, he would play using a stick to hit bottle caps. After hearing his idol Jackie Robinson speak in Mobile in 1948, Aaron dedicated himself to becoming a professional baseball player. Aaron played local semi-pro ball around Alabama before joining the Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro Leagues. In 1952, his only season in the league, he led the Negro American League with a staggering .467 batting average.
In 1952, Aaron signed with Major League Baseball’s Boston Braves organization and was assigned to their farm team, the Eau Claire Bears, in the Northern League. He started his career as an infielder and was named rookie of the year. The next season he was assigned to Jacksonville in the segregated South, where he was one of five players to break the South Atlantic League color barrier. They were forced to stay in different accommodations than their white teammates and, during games, he faced racial taunts. Nonetheless, he led the league in batting average and was named the league’s Most Valuable Player.
Following a move to the outfield, Aaron earned a spot on the Milwaukee Braves major league roster to start the 1954 season. He made his debut on April 13, 1954, and hit his first home run on April 23. At age 20, Aaron finished fourth in voting for the Rookie of the Year Award, hitting .280 with 13 home runs — the lowest number of homers he would hit for the next 20 years.
In 1955, Aaron donned his iconic number 44 for the first time and made his first Major League Baseball all-star team. The following season, he won his first batting title, with an average of .328. In 1957, “Hammerin’ Hank” had a season for the ages. He led baseball with 44 home runs and 132 runs batted in on the way to being named national league most valuable player. The Braves clinched their first pennant on Aaron’s 11th-inning home run on Sept. 23, 1957. In the World Series, he hit .393 with three home runs as the Braves beat the Yankees in seven games to win their first World Series title.
Aaron continued to produce at an extraordinary rate, but his team struggled. The franchise moved to Atlanta in 1966, becoming the first major league team south of the Mason-Dixon line, placing additional spotlight on their Black star player.
On July 21, 1973, Aaron hit his 700th career homer, and as Aaron approached Babe Ruth’s record of 714 home runs, he received more than 900,000 pieces of mail that year. While most of it was in support of his pursuit, it also included many pieces threatening terrible violence against Aaron and his family.
On April 8, 1974, in front of a sellout crowd in Atlanta and a national television audience, Aaron sent a fastball 400 feet over the left-center fence for his 715th career home run, making him the holder of baseball’s most cherished record. While the event will be remembered by generations of baseball fans as one of triumph, breaking the record was more of a relief than a celebration for Aaron, who endured so much hate on the chase to 715.
After the close of the 1974 season, he was traded back to the city where his career began, this time playing for the Milwaukee Brewers. His final home run came July 20, 1976, bringing his career total to 755. With his playing career behind him, Aaron was named vice president of player development with the Braves. He was one of the first African Americans to be promoted to a front office position in Major League Baseball and he pushed for more African American executives in the game. In 1994, Aaron and his wife Billye started the Hank Aaron Chasing the Dream Foundation to provide scholarships to underserved youth.
For his achievements on and off the field, Aaron received numerous awards. In 1982, he was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, and in 1999, Major League Baseball created the Hank Aaron Award to honor the best offensive player in each league. In 2002, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States. Three years later, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund presented him with the Thurgood Marshall Lifetime Achievement Award and established the Hank Aaron Humanitarian in Sports Award in his honor.
Aaron died on Jan. 22, 2021, at the age of 86. Later that year, when the Braves won the World Series, their championship ring honored Aaron by featuring 44 emerald cut diamonds and a total of 755 diamonds. Following his passing, the Atlanta Braves and Major League Baseball established the Henry Louis Aaron Fund to continue to support Aaron’s life-long passion to increase minority participation in baseball on the field and in front offices.
Succeeding amid racism at every step of his career, Hank Aaron took the torch from Jackie Robinson and carried it to levels unseen in the game of baseball. He produced a Hall of Fame career and continued breaking ground off the field. Aaron’s trailblazing life transcends the game of baseball and provides a constant source of inspiration for generations who follow in his footsteps.
Stamp Design
The stamp art features a portrait of Aaron as a member of the Atlanta Braves, based on a 1968 photo, showing Aaron’s famous right-handed batting stance from the waist up.
In the selvage is a digital painting of Aaron watching the ball he just hit for his record-breaking 715th home run, based on a 1974 photo by Harry Harris.
Greg Breeding, an art director for USPS, designed the stamp and pane with original art by Chuck Styles and typography by Kevin Cantrell.
Source: U.S. Postal Service
