The late Henry Aaron played in two Cracker Jack Old Timers Baseball Classics in RFK Stadium. Aaron homered off of Bob Feller in the 1984 edition (h/t Uni Watch).
Former Senators star, Harmon Killebrew, was the leftfielder watching the ball sail over his head.
75 year old Luke Appling famously homered over the same short porch in the inaugural 1982 game. RFK was not shifted into true baseball configuration for those exhibitions.
Aaron, 50, broke his bat with his swing.
Home Run Derby against Nats slugger
In 1959’s Home Run Derby, Aaron defeated Senators star Jim Lemon, 6-4. It was his second appearance on the short-lived program.
An infrequent visitor to DC
Hammerin’ Hank played most of his career in the NL with the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves. Visits to Washington were limited. to the 1956, 1962 and 1969 All-Star Games.
In ‘56 Aaron went 0-1 (Baseball Reference) in Griffith Stadium. He did not play in the ’62 contest at RFK Stadium. In ’69, he went 1-4 with a walk and a run scored. (Baseball Reference) .
[MORE: Video: DC MLB All-Star Game memories]
Celebrate Aaron’s legacy – Atlanta Hammers
The Braves name, like the Redskins and Indians (eventually), should be discontinued. There is no indication that it is happening, but change can happen swiftly as we saw with the now Washington Football team. By the way, the NFL franchise started out as the Boston Braves, named after the baseball team.
The Atlanta franchise has a natural replacement – the Atlanta Hammers (The Post). Honoring their greatest player by invoking his nickname is a fine tribute that expands the legacy. It wouldn’t even require a significant uniform upgrade — a hammer replaces the tomahawk on the jerseys.
If I was an Atlanta fan, I’d rather my team be named after the home run king that played there rather than New York City politicians (Talkin’ Chop).
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