Happy 84th Birthday to MR. Henry Louis Aaron

[Peter_Spaeth]

Man, tough crowd. Endure death threats and see how you feel about racism. Is he supposed to be a saint, or eternally grateful because he has earned a good living?

[slipk1068]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Man, tough crowd. Endure death threats and see how you feel about racism. Is he supposed to be a saint, or eternally grateful because he has earned a good living?

No. He is supposed to be grateful that he is able to earn decent living selling his autograph. If he can't be civil and an ambassador to the game, he should only do private signings.

[Snapolit1]

+1. No one has to go to shows. If the whole thing makes you uncomfortable don't do it. But if you do it with a chip on your shoulder and look down at or belittle people paying $$ to meet you I can't excuse that.

[jefferyepayne]

Man, you guys could make Lemons out of Lemonade ;-)

jeff

[Snapolit1]

Originally Posted by jefferyepayne

Man, you guys could make Lemons out of Lemonade ;-)

jeff

Sorry, but I have 3 friends who met him at different shows over the years and all found him incredibly rude and dismissive.

His importance in baseball and American History is undeniable. Doesn't make him humble or other things the OP said.

[ALR-bishop]

I do not know him. Never met him. Do not do not do autographs. I am glad I saw him play in person. Great ball player.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Trying to sneak a fastball by Hank Aaron was like trying to sneak a sunrise past a rooster. Such a great quote.

Another favorite of mine is, "Henry did not shuffle." I forget who said it, but the context was that according to the speaker anyhow when the Braves moved to Atlanta in 1966 there was still a segment of the population that expected blacks to behave a certain deferential way.

[MattyC]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

Sorry, but I have 3 friends who met him at different shows over the years and all found him incredibly rude and dismissive.

Three friends over years doesn't seem like a large enough sampling for me to adopt a negative opinion of the man. By "incredibly rude," what is meant, exactly?

Perhaps the OP had a different experience altogether with the man, and so his opinion is as valid as another's.

[packs]

Here's my Hank with a nice vintage sig. I don't care what people have to say about meeting him at a card show. The amount of hate he endured in his lifetime pales in comparison to the one minute or two minutes you had to stand in front of him while he didn't look at you or something: