Braves launch Hank Aaron week as US Postal Service dedicates new Aaron forever stamp

Hall of Famer Hank Aaron waves to the crowd during the Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Sunday, July 28, 2013, in Cooperstown, N.Y. The Atlanta Braves launched hank Aaron on Wednesday, July 31, 2024, when the U.S. Post; Service dedicated a commemorative forever stamp honoring Aaron during a ceremony at Truist Park. (AP Photo/Mike Groll, File)

Date: August 01, 2024

ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Braves launched Hank Aaron Week on Wednesday when the U.S. Postal Service dedicated a commemorative forever stamp honoring Aaron during a ceremony at Truist Park.

The stamp was announced on April 8, the 50th anniversary of Aaron’s record-breaking 715th home run.

On April 8, baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred helped honor Aaron in Atlanta by joining the Braves in announcing a $100,000 endowment of a scholarship at Tuskegee University, a historically Black university in Aaron’s home state of Alabama.

The Henry Louis Aaron Fund, launched by the Braves following Aaron’s death in 2021, and the Chasing the Dream Foundation, created by Aaron and wife Billye, were designed to clear paths for minorities in baseball and to encourage educational opportunities. Billye Aaron, Hank Aaron’s widow, attended Wednesday’s ceremony at Truist Park.

The 2024 Hank Aaron Invitational Showcase will be played at Truist Park on Saturday. The game will feature 44 athletes from diverse backgrounds who competed during the two-week Hank Aaron Invitational series held at the Jackie Robinson Training Complex in Vero Beach, Florida.

Aaron’s 715th home run topped the record 714 hit by Babe Ruth in a career from 1914-35. Aaron hit 755 home runs from 1954-76, a mark that stood until Barry Bonds hit 762 from 1986-2007, a feat assisted by performance-enhancing drugs.

Baseball’s Hall of Fame unveiled a bronze statue of Aaron on May 23 on the first floor of its museum in Cooperstown, New York.

Aaron was elected to the hall in 1982. A 25-time All-Star, he set a record with 2,297 RBIs. He also continues to hold the records of 1,477 extra-base hits and 6,856 total bases.

What to Read Next

The Author

Comment Policy

The Augusta Press encourages and welcomes reader comments; however, we request this be done in a respectful manner, and we retain the discretion to determine which comments violate our comment policy. We also reserve the right to hide, remove and/or not allow your comments to be posted.

The types of comments not allowed on our site include:

  • Threats of harm or violence
  • Profanity, obscenity, or vulgarity, including images of or links to such material
  • Racist comments
  • Victim shaming and/or blaming
  • Name calling and/or personal attacks;
  • Comments whose main purpose are to sell a product or promote commercial websites or services;
  • Comments that infringe on copyrights;
  • Spam comments, such as the same comment posted repeatedly on a profile.