Photo/Illutration Atlanta Braves’ Hank Aaron (44) breaks Babe Ruth’s record for career home runs as he hits his 715th off Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Al Downing in the fourth inning of the home opener at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium on April 8, 1974. (AP Photo)

Whatever the sport, I imagine that cheers from fans give any athlete on the threshold of setting a momentous record the intense focus needed to achieve the feat.

But that was not the case with Hank Aaron.

When he came within range of Babe Ruth's 714 home run record, he was getting threatening letters practically every day. That was because Aaron was Black.

One piece of hate mail read to the effect: "Dear Hank. Once you hit your 700th (home run), consider a bullet tearing a hole in your body."

Another warned, "Mr. Aaron. Unless you retire from baseball, the consequences will be dire for your family."

Although Aaron also received many letters of encouragement, he was tormented by all the malice and hatred he encountered.

He hit the record-breaking 715th round-tripper on April 8, 1974.

He recalled in his autobiography that once he became an influential ballplayer, he felt a new obligation to be a role model for Black children, who he believed needed hope.

Aaron died on Jan. 22. He was 86.

As a young boy living in poverty, his hero was Jackie Robinson, the first Black major leaguer.

Endowed with powerful wrists, Aaron landed his first major league contract in 1954. His career overlaps the civil rights movement in the United States.

Following his death, The New York Times interviewed and quoted Al Downing, the Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher off whom Aaron hit his landmark 715th homer: "Remember what this world and what this country was like at that time. We were going through the whole civil rights era back in the ’60s, and it wasn’t over by ’74."

Given the intermittent outbursts of racism that continue in America today, I believe the civil rights era is still not over.

But from the highest accolades being showered on Aaron now, I can see that progress is being made.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Jan. 26

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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