Hank Aaron Forum

In tribute to one of the Greatest Baseball Players in History, what's your favorite Hank Aaron memory or Baseball Card Collectible? 

Some people like October 2, 1974 when Hammering Hank Aaron hit his 733rd home run as a Braves player, but others like his 1954 Topps Rookie Card (allegedly selling for over $300,000 as PSA 10 in 5/12/2012), which isn't even as rare as his "SIDE B"  error card.

What do you think? 

He retired before I was born, but greatest collectible, my brother pulled an Aaron autograph from a pack of 1994 Archives

I don't have a Hank Aaron card, unfortunately.

For the 1954 Topps RC, I don't know what a PSA 10 of that card would go for today, but like a couple of years ago, a PSA 9 got sold for over half a million.

I don't think the error side B card can be more valuable than his RC, but I don't know.

For me, it would have to be watching Hank hit #715 to break the Babe’s record against the Dodgers and hearing Vin Scully’s immortal call “A Black man is getting a standing ovation in the Deep South for breaking a record of an all-time baseball idol. What a marvelous moment for baseball. What a marvelous moment for Atlanta and the state of Georgia. What a marvelous moment for the country and the world.”

Attending an event at a jewelry store in a Bay Area shopping center when I was a kid in the 70s.  Hank Aaron was there giving out autographed photos (not sure if they were pre signed or facsimile). He wasn't doing any autographs in person.  My mom asked a question about something on a first day cover (stamps) that she brought.  He looked at it and signed it, she was the only person to get something signed at the event.

The last time I saw, the infamous SIDE B Hank Aaron error card, it was going for over $20,000 on eBay. There was a massive fight on Wikipedia by editors of the Honus Wagner Card, that didn't want competition I guess. Did you know Wiki is not entirely transparent? Wiki editors or Admins can block the public from seeing much info. 

My favorite Henry Aaron memory is seeing him hit a triple against the Cardinals at Busch Stadium II at my very first MLB game in June 1968 when I was 7.  I am a Cardinals fan and at the time I wasn't too happy about him hitting that triple against my favorite team.  But as I grew older and wiser, I came to appreciate that I saw one of the greatest players ever play and get a dramatic hit like a triple.  I still have the ticket stub from that game and later on I was able to acquire a scorecard from that game.  Definitely among my more treasured collectibles.

bpaul14,

It's interesting you mentioned a ticket of that game, I just recently found out that tickets can be graded and sold as collectors items.  I came across a Tony Gwynn 3000 hit game ticket from the Padres game against the Expos in 1999.  I may start adding these things to my collection, and not just cards.

My favorite Henry Aaron memory came at Cleveland Municipal Stadium in 1975 or 1976, we were there early to watch batting practice, when Aaron went in to hit everyone stopped and watched. all the activity on the field stopped once he started hitting, everyone turned to watch Aaron hit, nothing else happened, all the players and the few fans just stopped and watched...and when he finished, things went back to normal, .i didnt completely understand then, but i get it now.

Here's an article I did a while back on the 10 Best Hank Aaron cards.

My favorite Aaron that I own is a 1956 Topps in PSA 4. The 1956 Topps set has long been a favorite of mine - the larger size, the horizontal layout, the two "images" of the player. While a PSA 4 isn't high end, the card has great eye appeal. A real pretty card!