His father, Herbert, brother Tommie and sister Gloria have died. His mother, Estella, and other family members have moved to Atlanta.
“Mr. (Herbert) Aaron was just a super guy,” said Kearney Windom, president of the Mobile Sports Hall of Fame, whose first inductee was Hank Aaron.
“I think everybody who knew Mr. Aaron liked him and I think that was true about his sister and mother. I think there’s a little more distance without the family ties being what they once were.”
There are plenty of reminders, particularly at Hank Aaron Stadium.
The address is 755 Bolling Bros. Blvd., honoring both Aaron and Mobile natives and former big leaguers Frank and Milt Bolling. A new addition this season is the minor league version of Atlanta’s “755 Club” at Turner Field down the third-base line, featuring Aaron-donated pictures and newspaper clippings.
Fittingly, there is an article about commissioner Bowie Kuhn’s absence from Atlanta Stadium back in 1974 when Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s home run record with No. 715.
Mobile teacher Jay Smithson remembers that moment well.
“He hit his 715th home run right around my birthday when I was 7,” Smithson said. He did a school report on Aaron back then, but dreads the day when Aaron’s own mark goes down.
“I’m not really happy about it,” he said.
He’s not alone in that regard in Mobile, especially given the allegations that Bonds has pumped up his numbers with performance-enhancing drugs.
“In some ways we’re just like the rest of the nation,” the BayBears’ Shanahan said. “In other ways, we take it personal in Mobile, because in our opinion Hank is the true all-time home run king.”
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