Longtime MLB home run king Hank Aaron passed away Friday at the age of 86, according to CBS in Atlanta.
Aaron’s daughter confirmed his death to WSB-TV.
Aaron broke MLB’s all-time home run mark on April 8, 1974 with No, 715 surpassing Yankees legend Babe Ruth. Aaron overcame death threats as he was fighting to break the mark.
Aaron finished with 755 home runs, a mark that was ultimately passed by Barry Bonds under the stain of PED use. Many still consider Aaron the sport’s true home run leader.
Aaron was well known as one of the true gentleman of the sport, respected by peers and fans for the way he carried himself while breaking baseball’s most-revered record.
“I don’t think too many people got a chance to know me through the years, and that was something that was my own doing, because I’m actually kind of a loner, a guy that has stayed to himself,” Aaron told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2006. “A lot of people thought they knew me, but they really didn’t.
“They pretend that they know me, but I travel alone. I do just about everything alone. I have associates, but I don’t have many friends. I would just want to be remembered as somebody who just tried to be fair with people.”
Aaron, who was born in Alabama, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1982. His 2,297 RBIs are still the most in the history of the sport.
