I Had a Hammer; The Hank Aaron Story

New York: HarperCollinsPublishers, 1991. First Edition [Stated], First Printing [Stated]. Hardcover. Good/Good. xvii, [1], 333, [1] pages. Illustrations. Signed with sentiment on fep, reads Best Wishes Hank Aaron. Some moisture staining, soiling, and minor page rippling noted. The DJ shows some staining inside and out at the front panel. The front cover has some staining. Moisture was predominately at the bottom edge. All pages separate and all text clear. Signature has been compared with numerous examples presented on the internet and found to be highly consistent--signature believed to be genuine. The greatest home run hitter in baseball history recounts his life, from his poor beginnings in Alabama and his job with the Negro American League to his post-baseball career as a spokesman for the advancement of blacks. Henry Louis Aaron (February 5, 1934 - January 22, 2021), nicknamed "Hammerin' Hank", was a professional baseball right fielder and designated hitter who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball, from 1954 through 1976. Considered one of the greatest baseball players in history, he spent 21 seasons with the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves in the National League and two seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers in the American League. At the time of his retirement, Aaron held most of the game's key career power-hitting records. He broke the MLB record for home runs held by Babe Ruth and remained the career leader for 33 years. He hit 24 or more home runs every year from 1955 through 1973 and is one of only two players to hit 30 or more home runs in a season at least fifteen times. Aaron was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 1982. The man who shattered Babe Ruth's lifetime home run record, Henry "Hammering Hank" Aaron left his indelible mark on professional baseball and the world. But the world also left its mark on him. I Had a Hammer is much more than the intimate autobiography of one of the greatest names in pro sports—it is a fascinating social history of twentieth-century America. With courage and candor, Aaron recalls his struggles and triumphs in an atmosphere of virulent racism. He relives the breathtaking moment when, in the heat of hatred and controversy, he hit his 715th home run to break Ruth's cherished record—an accomplishment for which Aaron received more than 900,000 letters, many of them vicious and racially charged. And his story continues through the remainder of his milestone-setting, barrier-smashing career as a player and, later, Atlanta Braves executive—offering an eye-opening and unforgettable portrait of an incomparable athlete, his sport, his epoch, and his world. Derived from a Published Weekly article: Fans will be eager to read all-time home-run king Aaron's autobiography, written with freelancer Wheeler, especially as he was one of the last major league players with his roots in the Negro League. At 18 the Mobile, Alabama-born athlete was signed by the Indianapolis Clowns and within months was on his way to organized white baseball. He helped to integrate the South Atlantic League--a horrible experience--and within two years was playing for the Braves in Milwaukee, Wis., a city that loved him; after 13 years the team moved to Atlanta, where he was shown little affection. Each chapter begins with a scene-setting introduction by Wheeler, then Aaron takes over, aided by reminiscences of boyhood friends, former teammates and baseball executives. The book is as much a social document as a memoir, for Aaron is emphatic on race relations and views himself as a successor to Jackie Robinson in the fight to end sports racism.