09 September 2013

black armbands for tommie aaron

tommie aaron, braves coach and younger brother of hank aaron, passed away in august of 1984 from leukemia.  in his honor, the braves wore black armbands for the remainder of the season.  late season callups zane smith and paul zuvella were the only players i could find who were featured on a card with the armbands.  here is their 1985 fleer 'major league prospects' card
aaron had been a part of the braves' organization from 1958 when he signed with the milwaukee team as an amateur free agent until the time of his death.  he made his big league debut in 1962, and appeared in parts of seven seasons with the big league club.  his 13 home runs, when added to brother hank's 755, total the most home runs hit by brothers in the major leagues.

following his retirement as a player, aaron managed in the braves' minor league system before joining the parent club as a coach in 1979.   the organization continues to honor aaron to this day, as the richmond braves annually award the 'tommie aaron memorial award' to the team's most valuable player.

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