I Had A Hammer ( p.1-47)

Hank Aaron’s I Had a Hammer story by himself and Lonnie Wheeler is already a great reflection on how Hank Aarons life started out as. Aaron went from an 18 year old Negro, who played for a team called the Indianapolis Clowns, to one of the greatest baseball players to ever play the game. Hank Aaron is one of 8 kids in his family. He was born in Mobile, Alabama. His parents moved into a house and with all the kids they had they had to remodel the house and create for bedrooms. They would not pay carpenters to help make the extra rooms; everything was done in the family. Hank was one of the few black people to go into the baseball nation, after Jackie Robinson’s color barrier breakthrough. With his great talent, he most definitely made a huge impression on the white players around the world.

The quote I chose came when his coach named Ed Scott gave him a letter so he can give it to the scout named Bunny Downs. It said, “Forget everything else about this player. Just watch his bat” (Aaron 25). This quote really stuck out to me because, his coach is basically trying to say, look away from the fact that he is black, look away from the fact that he comes from a poor family and doesn’t have GREAT equipment but look at his ability and potential that he has when he plays the game. To me it’s important because I am a HUGE Hank Aaron fan, and the things he can do with the bat are amazing.