The United States Postal Service and the Negro League Legends Hall of Fame (NLLHOF) are teaming up to honor legendary slugger Henry “Hank” Aaron on Aug. 17 at the Prince George’s County Stadium in Bowie, Maryland.
In a private ceremony held in the Negro League Legends Hall of Fame suite at 10 a.m., the Forever stamp celebrating Aaron will be on sale and a special pictorial cancellation for collectors will be the main event. The special pictorial cancellation will be available at the Bowie Post Office until Sept. 17.
The public stamp ceremony will begin at noon at the stadium. This stamp ceremony will occur on the same day as the annual East-West All-Star Vintage baseball game, which is free and will begin at 1 p.m., and include a tribute to Levi Drew who played on the Indianapolis Clowns, Aaron’s old team, in 1957.
There will also be an auto show outside of Prince George’s Stadium beginning at 10 a.m.
Celebrating Hank Aaron
Aaron retired holding numerous records, including most home runs and most runs batted in, and he was the last active MLB player who participated in the Negro Leagues. He remains the all-time leader in total bases and extra-base hits, second all-time in home runs, and third all-time in hits.
Following his Hall of Fame career, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2002 and worked in the front office of the Atlanta Braves. He died in 2021 at the age of 86. There will also be a stamp ceremony in Atlanta’s Truist Park on July 31 to honor Aaron.
“He was a giant both on and off the field. He rose from humble beginnings to rewrite the record books while prevailing in the face of racism,” said USPS specialist Mark Wahl, who is serving as one of the dedicating officials for the ceremony alongside Sims. “Hank Aaron was a gifted athlete and one of the most prolific hitters in baseball history. It’s an honor to celebrate his incredible legacy with a Forever stamp.”
Wahl noted that during Aaron’s chase to break Babe Ruth’s then-record 714 home runs, Aaron received more mail than any other non-politician in America. Much of this was racist hate mail intended to deter and discourage him. Wahl remembers watching that record-breaking home run to this day.
“I remember vividly where I was on April 8, 1974. All across the United States, baseball fans stopped whatever they were doing and crouched a little closer to their glowing television screens,” he said. “I was watching a small black and white TV in my parent’s bedroom at 212 Verna Drive, just after 9 p.m., it was school night, but this 13-year-old had to stay up late in this suburb of Pittsburgh to witness history. In those days playing in our fantasy world of wiffle ball, if you were a left-handed hitter, you were Willie Stargell and if right-handed, Hank Aaron.”
NLLHOF Founder Highlights African Americans’ Contribution to Baseball
Negro League Legends Hall of Fame founder Dwayne Renal Sims is a noted historian and archivist of Black baseball history, stretching back to the late 19th century, and will be serving as a dedicated official during the ceremony. He has been working for decades to spread awareness and recognition of the long legacy of Black baseball and was a sponsor to the 2002 congressional tribute to the Negro Leagues.
“When I founded the NLLHOF, my late godfather Frank Evans, who played for the Cleveland Buckeyes and Birmingham Black Barons, shared a list of phone numbers and addresses of 50 plus baseball players who played for the ‘love of the game.’ including Willie Mays and Monte Irving,” said Sims.
“I did not know that my curiosity would become a hobby, then turned into a project and then now I’m recognized as a lay historian, publisher, film producer, and collector of baseball’s untold stories of contributions of people of color to American baseball history.”
Sims, who has been active in preserving and promoting the history of the Negro Leagues, is also dedicated to unveiling the stories of Black baseball players before segregation worked to erase them. Players such as first baseman William Edward White, catcher Moses Fleetwood Walker, and pitcher William Renfro who played before the 1887 ban on signing Black players into professional baseball are largely unknown to even the most avid of baseball fans. Sims is planning to host a public event later this year in Washington D.C. to raise public awareness of the first era of colored baseball.
The NLLHOF founder’s collection, called the Rutherford Hayes Jones collection, has been cited by historian and author Phil S. Dixon as “one of the finest I’ve ever seen outside of a museum” and includes a considerable portion of the history of the Washington Giants. Ticket stubs, telegrams, scorebooks, and more than 100 pieces of history from over a century ago can be found in his collection.
It is expected that Sims will auction one of the rarest books that contains the details of the opening years of Black baseball, written by Sol White. This book has previously sold for over $20,000, and is highly coveted by baseball fans and historians alike.
Tickets for the Negro League East-West All-Star game are available here. Sept. 1 will serve as the backup date in case of rain, heat, or inclement weather.
All this for a great player/ They should all Bowie , ATL. Brave an any others who or having any event for Hank A. Should try and get any player that play with him or was on the Clowns team 1955-1963.should be invited to one of this Great invent that we will never have again. RUSSELL( CRAZYLEGS) PATTERSON Clowns 1960&61.
Hank A. did the foreword in a book written by CAM PERRON& NICK CHILES/ COMEBACK SEASON, Friendship with the Greatest living Negro League Baseball Players.