Hank Aaron The board appears to have been convinced, as Aaron was not drafted. 1954 saw Aaron attending spring training with the major league club. Although he was on the roster of its farm club, Milwaukee manager Charley Grimm later stated, "From the start, he did so well I knew we were going to have to carry him." On March 13, 1954, Milwaukee Braves left fielder Bobby Thomson fractured his ankle while sliding into second base during a spring training game. The next day, Aaron made his first spring training start for the Braves' major league team, playing in left field and
Hank Aaron hitter. As a result, in 1949, at the age of fifteen, Aaron had his first tryout with an MLB franchise, the Brooklyn Dodgers; however, he did not make the team. After this, Aaron returned to school to finish his secondary education, attending the Josephine Allen Institute, a private high school in Alabama. During his junior year, Aaron first joined the Pritchett Athletics, followed by the Mobile Black Bears, an independent Negro league team. While on the Bears, Aaron earned $3 per game ($ today), which was a dollar more than he got while on the Athletics. On November 20, 1951,