H A L L   O F   F A M E   I N D U C T E E S

Hank Aaron · Elected 1974
 Left Fielder, Louisville Colonels, Los Angeles Outlaws, Brooklyn Superbas, Chicago Colts · 1955-1973

When the phrase "Five-Tool-Player" was coined, the coiners couldn't have forseen the emergence of the mightiest tool of all: The Hammer!  Henry Louis "Hank" Aaron came to the United League full of promise, picked by the Louisville Colonels as the number one overall pick in the 1954 Rookie Draft. On the other side of eighteen seasons, Aaron surfaced as simply one of the best who ever played the game.

As a 21-year-old rookie in 1955, the Hammer proved that he deserved to be in the bigs, but this wasn't just a supreme power threat, this was a superb athlete that could hit for average and get on base with the best of them. Need more tools? Just add wicked speed, golden glovework and an arm that made base coaches extra cautious. He spent 8 1/2 years in Louisville and was part of the magical 1958 Championship season before becoming part of the infamous teardown that heralded the beginning of the end for former Colonels GM, Mark Allen.  Aaron was traded to the Los Angeles Outlaws midway through the 1963 season. In 1964, his first full season as an Outlaw, he crushed a record breaking 50 home runs, a record that was recently tied by Denver's Tom Grieve (with the help of some rarified air). In 5 1/2 seasons as an Outlaw, although he saw a drop off in his  usual production, he was still great. Released by the 'Laws after 1968, free agent Aaron found a new home in Brooklyn, still pulling in over $10 million per year, though it was becoming clear he was not the same player he once was, but diminishing Hank Aaron skills are still preferable to most of those in their prime. The Chicago Colts signed him in 1972, continuing the money train, but the end was clearly near. Aaron took his 1973 World Series ring and hung up his spikes, leaving a ton of money on the table, but clearly knowing when to make his exit.

Hank Aaron's two world championships were only the beginning of the hardware to be bestowed upon him. In eighteen seasons, he was named Player of The Week eleven times and Batter of the Month thrice. He was a five time All-UL team member and made five All-Star game appearances. Though he had better seasons, his only MVP trophy came in 1960 as a Colonel. He hit over 30 home runs in a season nine times, finishing his career with 535 clouts. He turned in over a hundred RBI's in six different seasons, ending his career with 1630. As an outfielder, he racked up eight Gold Glove Awards, including a run of five-in-a-row from '58-'62.
 
Hank Aaron finshed his career near the top of most indivdual leaderboards. As of his retirement, Aaron was 2nd overall in Games Played, At-Bats and Total Bases, 3rd in Runs, Hits and Home Runs, 4th in RBI's, and 5th in triples. And in case you thought his damage was all done with the bat, he also finished 7th overall in Stolen Bases and Walks. His inclusion into the United League's Hall of Fame seems like a foregone conclusion. Either way, Hank's for the memories, and we're still calculating just how many tools the Hammer had in his tool box.  (Charlie Qualls)

AWARDS & ACCOLADES
Most Valuable Player (1960)
All-UL Team (1958, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1964)
Gold Glove Award (1956, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1967, 1971)
Batting Champion (1960)
Home Run Champion (1961, 1964)
RBI Champion (1964), OPS Champion (1961)
4-time Batter of the Month, 11-time Player of the Week

Career Batting Stats
Year/Team Age G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS RC
1955 Louisville 21 85 274 77 10 5 19 59 54 19 28 18 9 .281 .328 .562 .890 47.1
1956 Louisville 22 147 572 162 42 7 26 94 93 45 64 49 5 .283 .335 .517 .853 101.1
1957 Louisville 23 149 556 165 29 6 35 94 113 54 62 53 10 .297 .359 .559 .918 111.2
1958 Louisville 24 149 566 177 39 4 30 111 110 62 60 47 11 .313 .381 .555 .935 119.8
1959 Louisville 25 149 547 162 28 8 26 86 95 57 52 35 12 .296 .364 .519 .883 104.5
1960 Louisville 26 150 583 199 24 6 36 110 119 45 49 55 5 .341 .392 .588 .980 137.6
1961 Louisville 27 147 566 178 33 3 42 106 109 64 58 38 10 .314 .383 .606 .989 133.6
1962 Louisville 28 155 600 175 37 8 37 100 108 71 57 57 15 .292 .366 .565 .931 125.3
     1963 Louisville 29 79 306 97 11 3 13 47 57 46 30 9 2 .317 .406 .500 .906 63.5
     1963 Los Angeles 29 72 271 68 14 3 19 43 48 32 31 6 1 .251 .337 .535 .872 49.3
1963 Total 29 151 577 165 25 6 32 90 105 78 61 15 3 .286 .374 .516 .890 113.1
1964 Los Angeles 30 153 595 178 25 5 50 139 108 68 47 20 6 .299 .370 .610 .980 130.3
1965 Los Angeles 31 151 587 182 27 2 28 89 100 78 70 22 5 .310 .397 .506 .903 118.1
1966 Los Angeles 32 151 626 161 23 3 33 77 93 63 44 20 6 .257 .330 .462 .792 92.5
1967 Los Angeles 33 132 528 146 20 2 30 88 86 56 52 15 7 .277 .349 .492 .841 89.9
1968 Los Angeles 34 103 403 109 13 4 19 59 73 51 31 15 1 .270 .357 .464 .821 68.3
1969 Brooklyn 35 155 565 161 29 5 24 100 95 76 53 14 9 .285 .373 .481 .854 100.3
1970 Brooklyn 36 113 419 98 9 1 17 43 48 41 48 9 3 .234 .303 .382 .685 48.4
1971 Brooklyn 37 157 601 140 21 3 23 84 69 72 57 11 8 .233 .317 .393 .709 74.8
1972 Chicago 38 140 487 106 22 4 16 58 77 57 46 21 8 .218 .303 .378 .681 52.3
1973 Chicago 39 120 360 70 15 2 12 43 42 54 39 14 4 .194 .301 .347 .648 39.4
Total UL 2657 10012 2811 471 84 535 1630 1697 1111 978 528 137 .281 .354 .505 .859 1790.8