Celebration Of The Life & Legacy Of Hank Aaron In West Palm Beach

With baseball's spring training heating up around the state, a South Florida congresswoman held a virtual celebration to honor the life and legacy of Hank Aaron.

The legendary Hall of Famer died last month at the age of 86, but not before making a lot of memories in Palm Beach County.

"Billye just a shout out to you! Hello. Welcome. We love you. Our hearts go out to you and your family. Just to let you know that you're always going to be part of our family."

Representative Lois Frankel addressing Aaron's widow, who was on the Zoom call to hear guests talk about the positive things he had done for the community.

"Hammerin' Hank" first visited West Palm Beach with the Atlanta Braves in the 1960's and '70's when the team played their spring training in town.

Frankel, a former city mayor, says Aaron and his wife would continue helping the community years later.

"What a generous couple...Billye and Hank. We used the funds that they raised to, the money went to the Boys and Girls Club here and they used that for scholarships for kids to take music lessons and tennis lessons and so forth."

One speaker recalled meeting Hank as a child as his family rented out a room to one of his teammates.

Back in the 1960's, black players were not allowed to stay at the team's hotel while in town for spring training.

Photo: Getty Images


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