Newspaper Page Text
The ADVANCE, January 27, 2021/Page 2B
Stye Aiiuance
Hammering
Hank
by
Loran Smith
When it came to hit
ting homeruns Hank
Aaron, who played Ma
jor League Baseball from
1954-1976, was to “the
manor born.” His familial
origins, however, were not.
His extraordinary ability to
hit a baseball would spring
board him from segregated
austerity into sports im
mortality.
It was as if he emerged
from the cradle with a Lou
isville Slugger in his hands.
No baseball slugger ever
walked more softly and
carried a bigger stick. No
champion was more resil
ient or brilliant. His style
was the most graceful of all.
Always under measured
control, he was picturesque
at the plate and had a clas
sic and unhurried gait as he
circled the bases.
While Jackie Robin
son, his first hero, had bro
ken baseball’s color barrier
in 1947, Aaron nonetheless
faced discrimination and
rebuke along the way, be
ing derided with hate mail
and death threats as he ap
proached the legendary
Babe Ruth’s career home
run record of 715.
He overcame it all,
with a consistency of per
formance that was akin to
the tortoise besting the
flamboyant hare to win the
race. Did you ever hear of
Hank Aaron experiencing
a slump? Having one too
many? He never missed
a weekend series, owing
to injury. This Cause
Celebre always resided
under the radar. The
most homeruns he ever
hit in one season was 47.
Ruth’s season record of
60 homers was not like
ly to be erased by Aaron,
but the Babe’s career
total of 714 was vulner
able with the Gulf Coast
native.
Aaron didn’t hit
tape measure homeruns.
He never cracked jokes
on the Tonight Show. It
wasn’t until 2002, when
he was 68 years old, that
his image was featured on a
Wheaties Box. Babe Ruth,
lionized by his off-the-field
habits as much as his prodi
gious power, was the center
of attention while the laid-
back Aaron was always the
“Quiet” and reserved man.
Ruth trained on hot
dogs and beer, but Aaron’s
athletic frame was nurtured
by the soul food offerings
from his mother’s kitchen
in Mobile, Alabama. He
is the real homerun king,
not the latent steroid abus
ers of today. Let their Hall
of Fame candidacies be
damned. Let’s raise a toast
to the real HR King, Henry
Aaron.
The Babe could engen
der a headline by fighting
a cigar. You seldom heard
from Aaron unless the
subject of racial inequality
came up. He was always
eager to speak up about
racial and social injustice,
something with which he
was agonizingly familiar.
There are a couple of
memorable intersections
from the past involving
Babe Ruth, his records and
Hammering Hank. Please
indulge my musings. I got
to know Babe Ruth’s ad
opted daughter, Julia Ruth
Stevens, who was born in
Athens. Her birth father
is buried in Oconee Hills
Cemetery.
After Roger Maris
broke Ruth’s season record
with 61 homeruns in 1961,
we met at the Atlanta Air
port a couple of years lat
er. I was returning from a
flight to Chapel Hill where
Georgia had played North
Carolina. Maris was head
ed somewhere and was
changing planes at the old
Atlanta Airport. He obvi
ously did not want to be
recognized.
Maris became per
turbed when I knelt down
beside him and began mak
ing notes on an Eastern Air
Lines cocktail napkin. He
could see that the scene
was garnering attention
and abruptly got up and
headed for the men’s room.
As a stringer for the Atlanta
Journal, I had enough for a
brief story and was not go
ing to follow him into the
Please see Loran page 11B
Ly- AT
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The Vidalia Heritage Academy Fishing Team competed in their first tournament last
week on Lake Blackshear. All 7 boats (14 anglers) of the Vidalia Heritage Academy will
move on to the State Tournament on Lake Oconee, Congratulations to Jake Adams
for getting 2nd in Biggest Bass with a catch weighing 5.3 lbs,
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Indian Anglers Are
A Part of History
Two Vidalia High
School anglers made his
tory Saturday as they
competed in the first-ever
GHSA Bass Fishing Tour
nament at Lake Seminole
in southwest Georgia.
Luke Lariscey and Noah
Cummings, who are part
of the Vidalia High School
Bass Fishing Team, com
peted against 120 teams
from around the state in
the Lake Seminole qualifi
er, placing 38th with a two
fish weight of 4 lb. 1 loz.
The weekend, which
began on Friday with the
team prefishing the lake,
concluded on Saturday af
ternoon with the weigh-in,
and Coach David McLeod
said that he couldn’t be
prouder of the young men.
“I think this was a great first
tournament for our guys,
who were up against guys
who fish in tournaments all
the time. The experience of
a big tournament and hav
ing the honor to be a part
of history is really neat.”
The team, which also
includes Max Beverly, are
all freshmen, and McLeod
sees that as an advantage,
“We are very young, so
our guys are only going to
get better with time, and
we still feel that we have
a good chance to qualify
for the State Tournament,
which will be held in May.”
Bass Fishing, which
this year became an official
sport of the GHSA, takes
a lot of time and practice
to succeed. McLeod says
that his team is committed
to doing what they have
to do to be a top team in
the state, “Our guys know
what it takes, and they un
derstand the commitment
and dedication it takes to
get better, so I think you
will see some good things
out of this bunch.”
The sport also takes
equipment, including an
outfitted boat with a Boat
Captain. Without the
school having a boat, they
turned to local sportsman
Ronnie Green, who not
only allowed the team to
use his boat, but also was
the Boat Captain. “I can’t
thank Mr. Ronnie enough
for his time and generos
ity,” said McLeod. Without
Mr. Ronnie, we wouldn’t
have been able to do this,
and for him to give up his
weekend to help us out is
really appreciated.”
Signups
continued from page 1B
the upcoming 2021 season.
Coaches will be required
to submit a background
check at the coaches meet
ing. The coaches meetings
will be held at the follow
ing times: Baseball Coach
es Meeting: Monday, Feb
ruary 15, at 5:30 p.m. at
the VRD Office, Softball
Coaches Meeting: Mon
day, February 15, at 6:30
p.m. at the VRD Office,
Teeball Coaches Meeting:
Tuesday, February 16, at
6:00 p.m. at the VRD Of
fice.
Be sure and mark your
calendars for Opening Day
Ceremonies on March 20.
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