Tommie Lee Aaron (August 5, 1939 – August 16, 1984) was an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

player and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

. He played as a

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

and

left fielder In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering sys ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

. Aaron was the younger brother of

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

member

Hank Aaron Henry Louis Aaron (February 5, 1934 – January 22, 2021), nicknamed "Hammer" or "Hammerin' Hank", was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1954 through 1976. One of the gre ...

. They were the first siblings to appear in a

League Championship Series The League Championship Series (LCS) is the semifinal round of postseason play in Major League Baseball which has been conducted since 1969. In 1981, and since 1995, the two annual series have matched up the winners of the Division Series, an ...

as teammates.

Baseball

Born in

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 census. It is the fourth-most-populous city in Alabama ...

, Aaron was signed by the

Milwaukee Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

on May 28, 1958, at the age of 18. He played for both the

(1962–1963, 1965) and the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in ...

(1968–1971). During the course of his development as a player, Tommie Aaron played for the

Richmond Braves The Richmond Braves were an American minor league baseball club based in Richmond, Virginia, the Triple-A International League affiliate of the Atlanta Braves from 1966 to 2008. Owned by the parent Atlanta club and colloquially referred to as the ...

of the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ( ...

in the mid-1960s, where he was

International League MVP The International League Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) is an annual award given to the best player in Minor League Baseball's International League based on their regular-season performance as voted on by league managers. Broadcasters, Minor ...

in 1967. After his playing days, he worked for the organization as a minor league

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activitie ...

(1973–1978) and major league

(1979–1984). Aaron hit a total of 13 major league

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s, with eight of them coming in his first year of 1962. Along with his brother's then Major League record 755, they hold the Major League record for the most career home runs by two brothers (768). The only other brother of a 500-home run man to play in the majors was

Rich Murray Richard Dale Murray (born July 6, 1957) is a former first baseman in Major League Baseball who played for the San Francisco Giants in its 1980 and 1983 seasons. Listed at 6' 4", 195 lb., he batted and threw right handed. Born in Los Angeles, ...

(brother of

Eddie Murray Eddie Clarence Murray (born February 24, 1956), nicknamed "Steady Eddie," is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) first baseman, designated hitter, and coach. Spending most of his MLB career with the Baltimore Orioles, he ranks fourth ...

), who hit four home runs in a brief major league career. Aaron finished his career with a lifetime

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

of .229, 13 HR, 94 RBI, and 102

runs scored In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted bal ...

in 437 games. He died of

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ...

in 1984 and was buried in the Catholic Cemetery of Mobile, Alabama. Aaron was married to Carolyn Davenporte on October 13, 1962. They had three children: Efrem; Tommie, Jr.; and Veleeta. Posthumously the Richmond Braves established the ''Tommie Aaron Memorial Award'' for the team's most valuable player, awarded annually until the affiliate relocated to

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

for the 2009 season. The Braves' AAA club (now the

Gwinnett Stripers The Gwinnett Stripers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They play their home games at Coolray Field in unincorporated Gwinnett County, Georgia (with a Lawrencevil ...

), have retired his No. 23.

Career statistics

References

External links

Tommie Aaron
at The Deadball Era * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aaron, Tommie 1939 births 1984 deaths African-American baseball coaches African-American baseball players Atlanta Braves coaches Atlanta Braves players Atlanta Crackers players Austin Senators players Baseball coaches from Alabama Baseball players from Alabama Burials at the Catholic Cemetery (Mobile, Alabama) Cedar Rapids Braves players Deaths from cancer in Georgia (U.S. state) Deaths from leukemia Denver Bears players Eau Claire Braves players International League MVP award winners Jacksonville Braves players Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Major League Baseball first base coaches Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball left fielders Milwaukee Braves players Minor league baseball managers Richmond Braves players Savannah Braves players Baseball players from Atlanta Sportspeople from Mobile, Alabama Tigres de Aragua players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela 20th-century African-American sportspeople