1952
|
June 14 |
Aaron is signed by
Milwaukee Braves' scout Dewey Griggs and assigned to their farm club in
Eau Claire, Wis. Aaron, playing second base, is selected as Northern
League Rookie of the Year. |
1953
|
|
Plays for the
Jacksonville Tars, Milwaukee's affiliate in the South Atlantic League and
is named league MVP. Plays winter ball in Puerto Rico and learns to play
the outfield. |
1954
|
March 13 |
Braves left fielder
Bobby Thomson breaks his ankle sliding into second base in a spring
training game, opening a spot in outfield for Aaron. |
|
March 14 |
Aaron makes his first
spring training start for the Braves and hits a home run. |
|
April 13 |
Aaron makes his major
league debut and goes 0-for-5 against Joe Nuxhall of the Reds in
Cincinnati. |
|
April 15 |
Aaron gets his first
hit in the majors -- a single off Cardinals pitcher Vic Raschi -- and goes
2-for-5 in a 7-6 win over St. Louis. |
|
April 23 |
Aaron hits his first
major league home run and it comes against Raschi in St. Louis. |
|
September 5 |
Aaron
breaks his ankle and misses the remainder of the season. |
1955
|
July 12 |
Aaron plays in his
first All-Star Game and goes 2-for-2 with a run scored and an RBI in a 6-3
win for the National League. It marks the first of a record-tying 24
All-Star Games for Aaron. Only Willie Mays and Stan Musial appeared in as
many All-Star Games. |
1956
|
|
Aaron hits .328 to win
the first of two National League batting titles. Aaron is named TSN's
National League Player of the Year. |
1957
|
August 15 |
Aaron homers off
Cincinnati's Don Gross -- Aaron's 100th of his career. |
|
September 23 |
Aaron hits an
11th-inning home run off St. Louis' Billy Muffett to clinch the 1957 NL
pennant for the Braves. |
|
September 24 |
Aaron hits a grand
slam in his first at-bat off St. Louis' Sam Jones for his 44th home run of
the season. The home run clinches the first of four NL home run crowns. |
|
October 5 |
Aaron hits his first
World Series homer, off the Yankees' Bob Turley, but the Braves lose the
game 12-3. Aaron is named National League MVP for the only time in his
career. |
1958
|
|
Aaron wins his first
Gold Glove and plays in his second World Series. |
1959
|
July 21 |
Aaron hit three homers
in a game against the San Francisco Giants -- the only time Aaron hit
three homers in a game. Aaron appears on the television show "Home Run
Derby." Aaron is paid $30,000 for his appearances -- almost as much as his
annual salary. |
1960
|
July 3 |
Aaron hits his 200th
career homer, this one off the Cardinals' Ron Kline in St. Louis. |
1961
|
June 8 |
Aaron, Eddie Mathews,
Joe Adcock and Frank Thomas become the first four players ever to hit
successive home runs in a game. They did in the seventh inning against
Cincinnati. |
1962
|
June 18 |
Aaron hits what most
consider to be the longest home run of his career -- a 470-foot shot to
straight-away center at the Polo Grounds in New York. Only two other
players ever hit a ball there -- Joe Adcock in 1953 and Lou Brock, who
oddly did it the day before Aaron. |
1963
|
April 19 |
Aaron hits his 300th
career homer, this one off Mets pitcher Roger Craig in New York. |
1965
|
September 20 |
Aaron hits the last
home run by a Milwaukee Braves player at Milwaukee County Stadium. It came
off Ray Culp of the Phillies. |
1966
|
April 20 |
 |
Aaron hits his 400th career
homer, this one off Bob Priddy of the San Francisco Giants. |
|
|
June 21 |
Aaron hits a home run
off the Phillies' Larry Jackson, Aaron's 24th home run of the season --
tying the National League record for most home runs by June 30. |
|
August 23 |
Aaron homers to set a
major league record with Eddie Mathews for most career home runs by
teammates (863). |
1968
|
July 14 |
Aaron hits his 500th
career homer, this one off Mike McCormick of the San Francisco Giants. |
1969
|
July 30 |
Aaron hits home run
No. 537 to move into third place on the career home run list, past Mickey
Mantle and behind only Willie Mays and Babe Ruth. |
1970
|
May 17 |
Aaron singles -- the
3,000th hit of his career -- off Reds pitcher Wayne Simpson in the second
game of a doubleheader at Cincinnati's Crosley Field. |
|
July 31 |
Aaron homers against
Dave Guisti of the Pirates in Atlanta for this 30th homer of the season,
establishing a National League record for most seasons with 30 or more
homers (12). |
1971
|
April 27 |
Aaron hits his 600th
career homer, this one off the San Francisco Giants' Gaylord Perry in
Atlanta. |
|
July 31 |
Aaron homers in an
All-Star Game for the first time, connecting off Vida Blue in Detroit. |
|
August 10 |
Aaron homers off Jerry
Johnson of the San Francisco Giants for his 40th home run of the season,
establishing a National League record for most seasons with 40 or more
home runs (seven). |
|
September 21 |
Aaron homers against
the Padres Jay Franklin for his 46th home run of the season -- a new
career high. Five days later, Aaron hits his 47th home run, the most he
hit in a season. |
1972
|
May 31 |
Aaron hits home run
No. 648 (off the San Diego Padres' Fred Norman), tying him with Willie
Mays for second place on the career home run list. |
|
June 10 |
Aaron hits home run
for No. 649 and moves into sole possession of second place on the all-time
home run list. The home run also was Aaron's 14th grand slam, tying him
with Willie McCovey and Gil Hodges atop the National League list. |
|
June 28 |
Aaron hits a two-run
homer to tie Lou Gehrig for second place on the all-time RBI list with
1,990. |
|
June 29 |
Aaron homers against
Mike Caldwell in San Diego to move into sole possession of second place on
the all-time RBI list. |
| July 3 |
Aaron homers off
Houston's Jim York -- the 2,000th RBI of Aaron's career. |
|
July 19 |
Aaron hits home run
No. 659 against Pirates pitcher Nelson Briles in Pittsburgh to tie Babe
Ruth for most home runs by a player with a single team. |
|
July 25 |
Atlanta plays host to
its first All-Star Game, and Aaron thrills the hometown crowd by homering
in the sixth inning off the Cleveland Indians' Gaylord Perry. |
August 6
|
Aaron homers off the
Cincinnati Reds' Wayne Simpson for his 660th home run, the most by a
player for one team. |
|
September 2 |
Aaron homers twice
against the Philadelphia Phillies in Atlanta to break Stan Musial's major
league record for total bases (6,134). |
1973
|
July 21 |
Aaron hits his 700th
career homer, this one off the Philadelphia Phillies' Ken Brett. |
|
September 29 |
Aaron hits home run
No. 713 -- his 40th of the season -- making the Braves the first team to
have three players hit 40 or more homers in a season. Darrell Evans and
Davey Johnson also reached the 40-homer mark. |
1974
|
April 4 |
On Opening Day, Aaron
homers off Cincinnati Reds pitcher Jack Billingham at Riverfront Stadium
to tie Babe Ruth's all-time home run record. |
|
April 8 |
 |
Aaron breaks Babe Ruth's
record for career home runs when he hits No. 715 off the Los Angeles
Dodgers' Al Downing at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. A nationwide
audience watched the event. |
|
|
October 2 |
Aaron homers off
Cincinnati's Rawly Eastwick in Atlanta for home run No. 733 -- his final
home run in a Braves uniform. |
|
November 2 |
The Atlanta Braves
trade Aaron to the Milwaukee Brewers for Roger Alexander and Dave May. |
1975
|
April 18 |
Aaron homers off
Gaylord Perry in Cleveland for his first American League homer and his
first with the Brewers. |
| May 1 |
Aaron becomes
baseball's all-time leader in RBIs (2,212). |
|
June 12 |
Aaron homers off
Oakland's Vida Blue for his first home run in Milwaukee as a member of the
Brewers.
|
1976
|
July 20 |
Aaron homers off the
California Angels' Dick Drago in Milwaukee for home run No. 755 -- the
final home run of his career. |
|
October 3 |
In his final major
league at-bat, Aaron singles off Detroit's Dave Roberts in the 6th inning
at Milwaukee County Stadium. |
|
October 7 |
Aaron rejoins the
Atlanta Braves organization as player development director. |
1982
|
August 1 |
Aaron is inducted into
Baseball Hall of Fame. At the time, only Ty Cobb received a higher
percentage of votes cast. |
1990
|
|
Aaron becomes senior
vice president and assistant to the president of the Braves. |
1999
|
February 5 |
At a celebration for
his 65th birthday, Aaron is honored for his achievements as a player and a
person. Major League Baseball announces the introduction of the Hank Aaron
Award, to be presented annually to the best hitters in the American League
and National League. |
