June 27, 1959

Baseball great and Alabama native Hank Aaron got to play in two All-Star games in 1959, after his fellow players, along with big-league coaches and managers, selected him unanimously for the National League All-Star squad. It was the first time any player was selected by unanimous vote. Major League Baseball scheduled two annual All-Star games from 1959 to 1962, hoping it would revive interest in the matchup. The first All-Star game of 1959, played at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, has another interesting Alabama connection. With Aaron on first base, another Alabama baseball great, famed center fielder Willie Mays, hit a triple, bringing Aaron home for the winning run. To this day, Aaron, who played right field, holds the record for having been chosen more times than any other Major League player for an All-Star team – 25 in all. Right behind him, tied for second place at 24, are Mays and legendary outfielder and first baseman “Stan the Man” Musial.

Read more at Encyclopedia of Alabama.

Atlanta Braves slugger Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s long-standing record when he hit his 715th home run in Atlanta on April 8, 1974. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame Library)

Hank Aaron was voted the National League’s Most Valuable Player in 1957, a year in which he compiled a .322 batting average and hit 44 home runs for the Milwaukee Braves. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, courtesy of Alabama Department of Archives and History)

Hank Aaron prepares to throw out the first pitch at the 2005 Southern League All-Star Game at Hank Aaron Stadium, home of the Mobile BayBears. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, courtesy of The Mobile Press-Register)

Hank Aaron’s plaque at the Hall of Fame, 2004. (Alkivar, Wikipedia)

Baseball legend Hank Aaron served as the Tom Johnson Lecture Series speaker at the LBJ Presidential Library on Jan. 22, 2015. (Lauren Gerson, Wikipedia)

For more on Alabama’s Bicentennial, visit Alabama 200.