Hank Aaron
It may seem that there isn't a lot we Wisconsinites can agree on these days, but one thing all of us can share is a love and reverence for perhaps the greatest baseball player ever to call Milwaukee home - Hammerin' Hank Aaron.
Aaron played for the Milwaukee Braves from 1954 until 1965, when the team moved to Atlanta. He would return to Milwaukee as a Brewer in 1975, where he would play his final two seasons as a Major Leaguer.
On numbers alone, few if any can stand up to him - 3,771 hits, a .305 lifetime batting average, 2,297 runs batted in, and of course, 755 home runs. He was the Home Run King for all of Major League Baseball from 1974 to 2007, when he was surpassed by Barry Bonds. (Most of us tend to ignore Bonds, though. ;-) )
Many fans well remember the day Aaron surpassed the home run record long held by Babe Ruth - April 8th, 1974. Aaron took a 1-0 pitch from L.A. Dodgers pitcher Al Downing over the left field fence. Lesser known is the fact that up to that day, Aaron received many angry letters and even death threats from fans who hated to see a black ballplayer take Babe Ruth's crown. Like Jackie Robinson and others alongside him, Aaron played in an era in which, despite the fact the color barrier had been broken, an ugly racism still lingered. Aaron's poise and bravery through this chaos is a model for all of us.
Aaron retired after the 1976 season and was inducted in the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981. He later became a successful businessman and still visits Milwaukee on occasion for Brewers and baseball fan events. Wisconsin honors him with a bike trail in his name. Be sure to check out the many great books, for readers of all ages, we have here at MPL about Hank Aaron.