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Tommie Lee Aaron
Atlanta Braves
First Base-Outfield
Born: August 5, 1939, Mobile, AL
Signed: Signed by the Milwaukee Braves as an amateur free agent, May 28, 1958
Major League Teams: Milwaukee Braves 1962-1963, 1965; Atlanta Braves 1968-1971
Died: August 16, 1984, Atlanta, GA (age 45)
The younger brother of Henry (#100), Tommie Aaron played in parts of seven seasons with the Braves, appearing in 437 games and hitting .229 with 13 career home runs. His best season in the majors was his first, as he appeared in 141 games for the Braves in 1962 hitting .231. He started 39 games at first base and 35 games in left field that season while his brother Hank patrolled center field.
Aaron was the International League MVP in 1967 for the Richmond Braves, where he hit .309 with 11 home runs and 56 RBIs. The Aaron brothers hold the distinction of having the top home run total in the majors for two brothers with 768, with older brother Hank contributing 755 of that total. Following his playing days, the younger Aaron managed in the Braves minor league system between 1974 and 1978 compiling a record of 354-337. He was a coach for the Braves between 1979 and 1984 for managers Bobby Cox (#237) and Joe Torre (#460). Aaron passed away from leukemia in August 1984 at the age of 45.
The younger brother of Henry (#100), Tommie Aaron played in parts of seven seasons with the Braves, appearing in 437 games and hitting .229 with 13 career home runs. His best season in the majors was his first, as he appeared in 141 games for the Braves in 1962 hitting .231. He started 39 games at first base and 35 games in left field that season while his brother Hank patrolled center field.
Aaron was the International League MVP in 1967 for the Richmond Braves, where he hit .309 with 11 home runs and 56 RBIs. The Aaron brothers hold the distinction of having the top home run total in the majors for two brothers with 768, with older brother Hank contributing 755 of that total. Following his playing days, the younger Aaron managed in the Braves minor league system between 1974 and 1978 compiling a record of 354-337. He was a coach for the Braves between 1979 and 1984 for managers Bobby Cox (#237) and Joe Torre (#460). Aaron passed away from leukemia in August 1984 at the age of 45.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.
Building the Set / Card #163
March 12, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
The Card / Braves Team Set / Accuracy Index +1
1969 Season
Aaron spent all season in Atlanta, appearing in 49 games and making only eight starts, all in left field. He didn't fare well as a pinch-hitter, batting .174 (4 for 23). Overall, he batted .250 with a home run and five RBIs. He'd have one pinch-hit at-bat in the 1969 NLCS, grounding out to the pitcher in the lone postseason appearance for his career.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1963 Topps #46
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (7): 1963-1965, 1968-1971
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2010 Tristar Obak #61
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 34 in the Beckett online database as of 11/5/23.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / Wikipedia
March 12, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
In mid-March, Doug and I attended the Philadelphia Sports Collectors Show, held within the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. My main focus for this show was accumulating as many 1969 Topps commons as possible, which I did by adding a grand total of 193 cards to our set. That's almost 30% of the entire set added in one enjoyable afternoon. I wrote a full summary of the show in a post over at The Phillies Room, found here.
This is the 86th of the 193 commons and semi-stars purchased, pulled and stacked from the first two neon green binders housing 1969 Topps cards at the multi-table spread of Uncle Dick's Cards from Babylon, New York. My method was simple - I pulled up a chair, found a card I needed, picked the best of the group from the binder page and set it aside. After each 100 cards, I'd ask the dealer to tell me how much damage I had done so far. With a budget in mind, I kept going twice, continuing after card #100 and card #200, and stopping at card #298. The final amount due was 17% off the sticker price for the pile of 193 cards, with this card costing me $1.25.
The Card / Braves Team Set / Accuracy Index +1
Topps went way back into the archives for the photo used here, which was first seen on Aaron's rookie card in the 1963 Topps set. The photo dates back to 1962 when the Braves were still playing in Milwaukee. Aaron wore #28 with the Braves between 1962 and 1965, switching to #18 in 1968. He likely spent his entire life in the shadow of his big brother Henry, and the last line on the back of the card is further evidence of that. The write-up focuses on his MVP season on 1967, his best professionally.
Accuracy Index: Again, I'm thinking I could have taken off more points if the photo was used before and was more than five years old. Since I didn't go that route, this Aaron card scores a +1 - five points for the accurate photo, but minus four points since it had been seen before.
1969 Season
Aaron spent all season in Atlanta, appearing in 49 games and making only eight starts, all in left field. He didn't fare well as a pinch-hitter, batting .174 (4 for 23). Overall, he batted .250 with a home run and five RBIs. He'd have one pinch-hit at-bat in the 1969 NLCS, grounding out to the pitcher in the lone postseason appearance for his career.
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First Mainstream Card: 1963 Topps #46
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (7): 1963-1965, 1968-1971
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2010 Tristar Obak #61
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 34 in the Beckett online database as of 11/5/23.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / Wikipedia
Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
1965 Topps Blog
1965 Topps Blog
#127 Kevin Collins - New York Mets / #129 Bill McCool - San Diego Padres
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