ATLANTA — Former President Bill Clinton shared stories of the Hank Aarons triumphs and humble spirit at the baseball legend's funeral on Wednesday. The service was held at Friendship Baptist Church in Atlanta.
"His whole life, as I said, was one long home run and now he has rounded the bases," Clinton stated from the podium.
Clinton described Aaron as an even-tempered man who always showed grace -- through every legendary stat he made and through hard times.
"He inspired to close the racial divide. Not by tearing anyone down, but by lifting people up," Clinton said.
He added that Aaron always aimed to open people's hearts and minds no matter how trying the racial tensions were.
In a statement released on Jan. 22, Clinton said, "His remarkable concentration on the field was even more impressive given the discrimination he faced throughout his career, and which got much worse as he approached the home run record."
Clinton shared a story about how Aaron contributed to his presidential win. When Clinton's team thought it was impossible for him to take Georgia, Aaron spoke at a 25,000 person suburban football stadium. Aaron was joined by other prominent Atlanta civil rights figures at the event, but Clinton said the iconic baseball player was the big draw.
"He didn't sound like a politician ...he was just talking to people," Clinton said. Three days later, Clinton won Georgia by 13,000 votes.
Photos: Final farewell to Hank Aaron
"And for the rest of his life he never let me forget who was responsible for winning," the former president said jokingly. "Hank Aaron never bragged about anything, except carrying Georgia for me in 1992."
Clinton said Aaron was so protective of baseball and its integrity -- even through times were tough as he approached breaking Babe Ruth's the home run record. He attributed that protection to Aaron knowing that, no matter what, you couldn't fumble the numbers.
"He knew when he was playing baseball was on the level that if you got a hit they couldn't say you didn't. If you caught a fly they couldn't say you didn't. If you had a good arm from the field and you threw somebody out, they couldn't say you didn't -- and they kept score," Clinton said.
Aaron, affectionately known as "Hammerin' Hank," played 23 major league seasons and hit 755 home runs - the second most of all-time.
He debuted with the Braves as a 20-year-old in 1954 and spent the next 21 seasons in a Braves uniform.
The Braves said when he retired, he held major-league career records in extra-base hits (1,477), total bases (6,856) and RBI (2,297) – the latter two he still holds today.
Clinton shared that Aaron never got rid of all of the racist hate mail he received. He said at first maybe it energized him to break that home run record, but the former president believes he kept it later for other reasons.
"I think he kept it to remind himself that grace is not the absence of anger or resentment. It is the conscious choice not to surrender to them. A choice every human being has to make every day," Clinton said.
"Hank Aaron knew that in every heart he encountered there were scales that sometimes tilted toward darkness and sometimes toward light. And that the state of grace required the will and heart to tilt them toward light and that required love," he added.
Although he's known as the "home run king," community members will also remember him for his philanthropy. Aaron is survived by his wife, Billye, and five children.