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Related Pieces
Piece Description
As a child in Milwaukee, producer Sandy Tolan idolized Hank Aaron, the great African-American baseball player and eventually the holder of the all-time career home run record. As Aaron approached his record-breaking homer in the mid-1970s, Tolan sent his hero a letter wishing him well and decrying the racist threats Aaron had been receiving. To Tolan's surprise, Aaron wrote back, a letter of personal thanks. In this piece, produced in 1999 for the 25th anniversary of Aaron's historic 715th home run but still relevant and timely today, Tolan finally meets Aaron, as well as teammates, friends, and members of the slugger's family. What emerges is not just a story of personal courage and achievement, but a troubling look into the consequences of hatred and misunderstanding. A note to programmers: This piece may be pegged to Barry Bonds' pursuit of Aaron's home run record. The circumstances of the two chases could not be more different, as Bonds, the son of a major leaguer, has never endeared himself to African-American fans and is seen by most people in the baseball world as a selfish cheat. It is notable that Bonds' pursuit of the record is seen in personal, not racial terms. Ironically, that is thanks in large part to pioneers like Aaron, who broke down barriers as much with their strength of character as with their athletic skill.
Broadcast History
First aired April 3, 1999
Timing and Cues
SUGGESTED INTRO: [May want to peg the piece to the pursuit of Aaron's record by Barry Bonds, the unpopular San Francisco Giants player who is widely assumed to have used performance-enhancing drugs to transform himself into a power hitter.] Growing up in Milwaukee, radio producer Sandy Tolan worshiped Hank Aaron, the great African-American slugger and eventually the holder of the all-time career home run record. In the mid-1970s, as Aaron approached his record-breaking homer, Tolan sent his hero a letter wishing Aaron well and decrying the racist threats Aaron had been receiving. To Tolan's surprise, Aaron wrote back, a letter of personal thanks. Twenty-five years later, Tolan finally met his idol face to face. What emerged was not just a story of personal courage and athletic achievement, but a disturbing look into the devastating consequences of racism and hatred.
OUTRO: That piece was produced by Sandy Tolan of Homelands Productions. For more information, as well as a link to "Me and Hank," the book Tolan wrote about Hank Aaron and race relations in America, visit www.homelands.org.
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Michael Johnson
Posted on April 24, 2007 at 09:20 PM | Permalink
Review of Me and Hank
This story is a loving tribute from Sandy Tolan to his boyhood sports hero, Hank Aaron. Tolan roams the country and his memory for this well told story of the legendary ball player.
With Barry Bonds closing in on Aaron's all time hitting record, this would be great to run on, around, shortly after, or shortly before the day the record is broken.