He Had A Hammer! Emory Baseball Honors Hank Aaron
He Had A Hammer!
Photo Courtesy: Emory Photo/Video
Back on April 8, 2014, in pregame ceremonies before the Atlanta Braves’ home opener, the organization honored Hank Aaron on the 40th anniversary of his 715th home run, a homer that at the time surpassed the previously held record of 714 by Babe Ruth. In addition to the ceremony, the team wore commemorative patches on their right jersey sleeves, shaped like home plate, with the number 715, Hank Aaron’s autograph, and a 40th Anniversary banner. It was a memorable moment for the organization, the team, and Atlanta Braves’ fans around the world!
Photo Courtesy: Emory Photo/Video
Now, three baseball players from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia are going a step further to honor the great Hank Aaron. Beginning tonight at 7 p.m., on level 2 of Emory’s Robert W. Woodruff Library, you can see an exhibit of some rare materials centered on the life of legend, Hank Aaron. The exhibit, titled He Had a Hammer: The Legacy of Hank Aaron in Baseball and American Culture, will be displayed and co-curated by Emory University students, juniors Kyle Arbuckle, Warren Kember and Brett Lake, who are also members of Emory University’s Eagles baseball team.
Photo Courtesy: Emory Photo/Video
Students’ names (from left to right): Brett Lake, Kyle Arbuckle, Warren Kember
The exhibit, which will contain three display cases, will feature materials donated by former baseball scout and Atlanta Braves’ Vice President Dick Cecil, and will include such materials as scouting reports, photos, some of the hate mail Aaron received in his career, baseball contracts, and much more. The exhibits will also contain material from the collection of former Emory athletic director Clyde Partin Sr.; the Robert Langmuir African American photograph collection, and the African Americans and Sports and Black Print Culture collections found in the Emory University Library. Unless you go to the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY, you won’t find this kind of material anywhere else!
Emory Exhibit Celebrates The Life Of Hank Aaron
Below is a video about the exhibit and why the players decided to take what little spare time they have to put this exhibit together.
Hank Aaron’s Lasting Legacy
The exhibit will appeal to more than just baseball fans, as Hank Aaron’s life and legacy were about much more than just baseball. As great as Aaron’s accomplishments were on the field, it has been his life, his legacy, and his strength through extremely tough challenges off the field that set Hank apart. Some of the items in the exhibit which will no doubt draw attention are the hate mail and death threats that Aaron received in his career, especially as he closed in on Ruth’s record.
To read the complete story on the exhibit, and find out more details about it, check out Maureen McGavin’s article in the Emory News Center, Hank Aaron materials in Emory collections inspire exhibit by students. It’s a much more in-depth piece on the work of the students who had the drive and the motivation to work hard to honor and pay tribute to Hank Aaron’s life and lasting legacy. If you’re an Atlanta Braves fan, a die-hard baseball fan, or just want to be inspired by the example of a man who overcame great odds to achieve his dreams, then be sure to go and see this wonderful exhibit.