Ross Simpson
Henry Louis "Hank" Aaron is 82 today.
The Sporting News ranked the "Hammer" fifth on its "100 Greatest Baseball
Players" list. After learning to play by hitting bottle caps with sticks he found
in the street, Aaron led his high school team to the Mobile Negro High School
Championship two consecutive years.
Sanford "Sandy" Koufax (born Sanford Braun in Brooklyn, New York)
Legendary Dodgers left-hander Sandy Koufax pitched a perfect game on the 9th
of September in 1965 and became the first MLB pitcher to throw 4 career no-
hitters. He won 4 World Series Championships, 3 Cy Young Awards, 3 Triple
Crown Awards and the 1963 NL MVP Award during his 12 years with the Dodgers,
from 1955 to 1966. Koufax, at age 36 in 1972, became the youngest player ever inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Rookie Card
Henry Louis "Hank" Aaron turned 81 on February 5.
During his days in Atlanta, Hank Aaron reached a number of milestones;
he was only the eighth player ever to hit 500 career home runs, with his
500th coming against Mike McCormick of the San Francisco Giants on
July 14, 1968, exactly one year after former Milwaukee Braves teammate
Eddie Mathews had hit his 500th. Aaron was, at the time, the second-
youngest player to reach that plateau.
Since his retirement, Aaron has held front office roles with the Atlanta
Braves. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982
and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2002.
Clyde Austin Drexler was born in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Hall of Fame guard/forward Clyde Drexler won an Olympic gold medal with the
legendary Dream Team in 1992. He was selected to 10 NBA All-Star games as
a member of the Portland Trail Blazers and Houston Rockets and won an NBA
Championship with the Rockets in 1995.
Two greats in the game from left: Michael Jordan and Clyde Drexler
Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra was born in St. Louis, Missouri.
Berra is a 18-time MLB All-Star catcher and 3-time American League MVP
who won 10 World Series Championships with the New York Yankees. He
was named to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team in a voting of
fans in 1999.
