Hank Aaron

            Hank Aaron was born in Mobile, Alabama to Herbert and Estella (Pritchett) Aaron. Aaron had seven siblings. Tommie Aaron, one of his brothers, also went on to play Major League Baseball. Aaron grew up in a poor family, and he worked on a farm picking cotton. Aaron’s family couldn’t afford baseball equipment, so he had to make the equipment out of things he found off the street, like sticks and bottle caps.

After relocating to Indianapolis, Indiana, eighteen-year-old Aaron helped the Indianapolis Clowns win the 1952 Negro League World Series. After playing for the Clowns, Aaron received two offers from MLB teams via telegram; one offer was from the New York Giants, the other from the then Boston Braves. Aaron chose the Braves because they paid fifty dollars more a month.

The 1970 season saw Aaron reach two more career milestones. On May 17th, Aaron collected his 3,000th hit, in a game against the Cincinnati Reds, the team against which he played his first game. He was the first player to get 3,000 career hits and 500 career home runs. Also during that year, Aaron established the record for most seasons with thirty or more home runs in the National League.

Batting average---- .305

Home runs---- 755

Hits---- 3,771

Runs batted in---- 2,297

Nolan Ryan, Jr.

Nolan Ryan, Jr. was born on January 31^st of 1957 in Refugio, Texas. Nolan was the youngest of six children. His parents were Nolan Ryan, Sr. and Martha Lee Hancock Ryan. His family moved to Alvin, Texas when he was he was only 6 months old. As a young boy, Nolan liked throwing objects at targets so his dad got him into baseball. He joined little league when he was nine.

In MLB, Nolan played for four different teams. He started in 1966 with the New York Mets, and stopped playing for them in 1971. He then moved to the California Angles in 1972, and stopped in 1979. He then signed to the Houston Astros for eight years, from 1980 to 1988. His last team was the Texas Rangers and he played for them from 1989 to 1993.

Ryan played in more seasons (27) than any other player in major league history. Ryan ranks first all-time in strikeouts (5,714), fewest hits allowed per nine innings (6.56), and no-hitters (7).

Nolan Retired from playing baseball but stayed in the baseball spirit. He threw out the ceremonial "first pitch" before Game 3 of the 2005 World Series between the Astros and the White Sox, the first World Series game ever played in Texas. That game went 14 innings, equaling the longest in innings in World Series history.