Hank Aaron Aaron led the league in runs (115), hits (208), doubles (36), RBI (125), total bases (338), and batting average (.362). He won the league's Most Valuable Player Award. and had such a dominant year that one sportswriter was prompted to say, "Henry Aaron led the league in everything except hotel accommodations." Aaron's time with the Braves did not come without problems. He was one of the first African Americans to play in the league. The 1950s were a period of racial segregation in parts of the United States, especially the southeastern portion of the country. When Aaron traveled around Jacksonville,
Dave Roberts (first baseman) Dave Roberts (first baseman) David Leonard Roberts is a former Major League Baseball first baseman who played 22 seasons of professional baseball. Of all professional baseball players whose careers began in 1952 only Hank Aaron had a longer career. Roberts started out in class C ball with the Porterville Comets of the Southwest International League in . He was purchased by the St. Louis Browns on October 10, 1953, less than a month before the Browns would officially become the Baltimore Orioles. It was to be the last transaction made in St. Louis Browns franchise history. After a strong 1955