Memories of Hank Aaron (and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar)

In the early 1970s, I read and reread two short biographies of athletes, both written for children. One was old enough that its title was basketball star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's birth name, "Lew Alcindor"; the other was a life of Hank Aaron published before he broke Babe Ruth's record for career home runs in baseball in the United States. Now, about fifty years later, I remember none of the details of either book. Instead, when I read of Aaron's death at 86 today, my first thought was of something I do remember: the death threats Aaron received after the 1973 baseball season when he was one home run short of that record. (Andrew Shields, #111words, 22 January 2021)