Hero with Roots in Eau Claire

As a boy growing up on a farm in Hillsboro, North Dakota it was a real treat to go to Fargo for a baseball game.  Fargo had a team on the Northern Leauge where the players were either on their way up to major league, on their way out, or some who never made it to the big time.

The very first game I saw was when the Twins played the Eau Claire Bears.  Never would I have imagined that I witnessed a player who became the biggest home run hitter in all of baseball.  Hank Aron had to fight many challenges as an African American in what was thought to be a white-man's game.  We honor his memroy with a statue in Carson Park.

Congratulations to Eau Claire for encouraging/allowing an African American to be on their team at a time in history when it was a courageous thing to do.