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Hank Aaron -- one of the greatest baseball players of all time -- has died. He was 86.

The Hall of Famer reportedly passed away Friday morning. . . .

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The baseball world lost one of the greats on Friday. Hank Aaron, more endearingly known as "Hammerin' Hank," has passed away at the age of 86. The former Atlanta Braves player and Hall of Famer is known for beating Babe Ruth's 33-year home run record in 1974.
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Aaron began his baseball career in 1954 with the Milwaukee Braves. The team moved to Atlanta in 1966. When Aaron hit his 715th home run in 1974, he broke Babe Ruth's record. Ruth's record held for 33 years and many thought it could never be broken. But his accomplishment was unfortunately accompanied by some racist hate mail and death threats. So when two young, white fans, later identified as Britt Gaston and Cliff Courtenay, rushed the field after Aaron hit his record breaking homer, audiences held their breath. As it turned out, they just wanted to congratulate him. And Aaron has reunited with the men a few times since.
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