Talkin’ Sports
By Justin Hanover
L
osing a hero or an icon or your favorite ball player in its own right is difficult enough. Losing three Braves Hall of Famers, including one Mt. Rushmore type legend, that are attached to your franchise, in less than a month was excruciating.
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able to the viewer. For 28 years many of us went to bed listening to one of the best in the business, his analysis and overall story telling ability will be sorely missed. And then on January 22nd the damn of tears broke.
First, Phil Niekro passed away on December 26th. Then, a few weeks later, came the news of the versatile Don Sutton’s death and finally just four days after that, on January 22nd, the gut punch of all gut punches as Hank Aaron, the home-run king and a transcendent larger than life figure, had left us as well. Niekro and his slow and slower knuckleball was as unique as they come. The right-hander had that gray hair, seemingly from when he first came into the league and in no way, shape or form represented the appearance of a professional athlete. Yet Niekro won 318 games in an amazing 24 year career. He just kept pitching and pitching and pitching, accumulating an insane 121 wins after his 40th birthday and retiring at the age of 48. Many of us went to our backyards and tried to mimic the man they called Knucksie. Don Sutton was a 324 game winning Hall of Fame pitcher who never threw a pitch for the Braves. But none of his on-field greatness had to do with the greatness of his post baseball Atlanta Braves career. “Black and Decker”, as many called him, had a way of telling the game story and meshing brilliantly with the other Atlanta TV and radio legends in Skip Caray, Pete Van Wieren and Joe Simpson. He was inducted into the Braves Hall of Fame in 2015 and just had that knack for painting the game picture, with loads of colorful information, while being very relat-
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The legend of all legends, the Zeus of our franchise, Henry Louis Aaron, had passed. Aaron played from 1954-1976 and is widely known as one of the greatest baseball players of all-time. He was, and many still say is, the Home Run King, surpassing Babe Ruth in 1974 with his 715th career long ball en route to a whopping 755. Those baseball feats were obviously amazing as nobody had ever climbed to such extreme heights but when factoring in the numerous death threats and racism involved in the chase you can see the tremendous character and mettle this man possessed. Aaron, who worked in the Braves front office and in our communities after his baseball career, received the Presidential Medal of Freedom award from George W. Bush along with the Presidential Citizens Medal from Bill Clinton. But with all that Aaron has accomplished both on and off the field his most impressive characteristic might just have been his humbleness and respect for others. One cannot think of Hank Aaron without a warm smile coming over his or her face, remembering this incredible man for who he was. Thank you to Phil Niekro, Don Sutton and Hank Aaron. We are all much better for “knowing you”! Justin Hanover is a sports reporter/analyst who has worked in the business since 1996. His stops have included ESPN, CNN, 790 The Zone and 680 The Fan. He has also done play-byplay analysis and color commentary ranging from the high school level all the way through the professional level. Justin lives in Smyrna with his wife and three children.
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