[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1999, Book I)]
[February 5, 1999]
[Pages 175-176]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks at a Gala Honoring Hank Aaron in 
Atlanta, Georgia
February 5, 1999

    Thank you very much, Tom. I want to 
thank Ted and Jane and 
you, Tom, and Gerry Levin and all the people 
from CNN and Time Warner for your role in this magnificent evening--all 
the sponsors, all the previous speakers.
    You know, the truth is, I wanted to come down yesterday just to get 
ready for this. [Laughter] I saw the list of the baseball players who 
were going to be here. You know, my job is not always the most fun in 
the world. [Laughter] I was interested in this.
    Governor Barnes told a story about Hank 
Aaron appearing with him. I want to tell you a story that's even more 
compelling. In 1992, on the weekend before the Presidential election, I 
was struggling to prevail in Georgia and Governor Miller said, ``You have to come one more time. And if you come, 
I think Hank Aaron will appear with you.'' I forgot about how many 
electoral votes we had--I forgot, you know, I just--so I came. And we 
went out to this high

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school football stadium, which held 25,000 people; it was completely 
full. Way over half of them came to see him. [Laughter] Three days 
later, after Hank Aaron blessed me in front of 25,000 people, we carried 
Georgia by 13,000 votes. [Laughter] I have never forgotten it, and I 
never will.
    Ladies and gentlemen, the essayist Jacques Barzun once wrote, 
``Whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn 
baseball.'' Well, probably more than any other sport, baseball revels in 
statistics. I wish we could have a contest tonight. We'd all know that 
Ty Cobb has the highest lifetime batting average and Cy Young the most 
wins; Mark McGwire, closely followed by Sammy Sosa, the most home runs 
in a single season. Most all of us here know that Henry Aaron has more 
baseball records than any other single player: most RBI's, most extra 
base hits, the only player to hit at least 30 home runs in 15 seasons, 
at least 20 homers in 20 seasons. First, as you heard on the film, to 
reach 300 hits--3,000 hits and 500 home runs.
    He also had an exquisite sense of timing. When he broke what 
appeared to be the most unbreakable record of all, he had the presence 
of mind to do it on opening night so all of us could plan to watch. 
Because Henry Aaron's story is so much the story of baseball and because 
it is the story of a changing America being manifest in baseball, 
knowing it is necessary to know the mind and heart of modern America.
    All of us honor him tonight not only for the power of his swing but 
for the power of his spirit; not only for breaking records but for 
breaking barriers; not only for chasing his dream but even more for 
giving children, like those we saw tonight, the chance to chase theirs. 
From Mobile to Milwaukee to Atlanta, through a segregated South in the 
old Sally League where he was the only member of the team that didn't 
stay in the same motel, the only one who couldn't get served at the 
dinner counter, he moved through a changing America. And he changed the 
mind and heart of America.
    When he came here, he had an interesting experience. Many of you 
have referenced tonight that when Hank Aaron approached Babe Ruth's 
record there was a dark, deep undercurrent which led him to get lots of 
hate letters and death threats so serious the FBI had to watch his home 
and the pall of violence began to hang over the games. But he said that 
very little of this mail came from Atlanta. And so as President of this 
whole country, I'd like to also take my hat off to Atlanta tonight.
    When Andy Young was up here talking, and 
then I saw the reference on the film by Mayor Allen--I remember as a boy growing up, burdened with the 
awful stain that the crisis in the high school in my State's capital 
caused us, that every one of us who felt as I did envied Atlanta because 
it had a mayor and business leaders who said they were determined to be 
known as the city too busy to hate. And they gave us, all of us, Martin 
Luther King and John Lewis, and leaders like Andy Young and Maynard 
Jackson and so many more, too many to mention. It was fitting that a son 
of the South who braved the storms of segregation would come home to the 
most important baseball record of all and go indelibly into the mind and 
heart of America.
    I came here tonight as a baseball fan, to remember a golden moment. 
I came as a friend, to thank a person who was there for me when I needed 
him in the worst way. I came here as President, to honor a great 
American--for courage and decency and dignity, for caring about all the 
kids coming along behind him, for giving them a chance to chase those 
dreams. America is a land of dreamers. Hank Aaron has made it even more 
so.
    So Hank and Billye, we thank you for the 
path you blazed, for the voices you raised, for the helping hands you 
gave. We thank you. God bless you. [Applause] Thank you.
    Now, don't sit down. I almost forgot my exit line. [Laughter] Ladies 
and gentlemen, our honoree, on the 25th anniversary of his 40th birthday 
and his 715th home run, Henry Aaron.

Note: The President spoke at 10:40 p.m. in the Centennial Ballroom at 
the Hyatt Regency Hotel. In his remarks, he referred to W. Thomas 
Johnson, chairman, president, and chief executive officer, Cable News 
Network; Ted Turner, vice chairman, and Gerald M. Levin, chairman and 
chief executive officer, Time Warner, Inc.; Gov. Roy E. Barnes and 
former Gov. Zell Miller of Georgia; former Mayors Andrew Young, Ivan 
Allen Jr., and Maynard Jackson of Atlanta; Mr. Aaron's wife, Billye; and 
Mr. Turner's wife, actress Jane Fonda. The President also referred to 
the South Atlantic (Sally) League.