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Hank Aaron’s first summer in the minor leagues was spent as far away as you could possibly get from his home in Mobile Alabama, literally and figuratively. During that summer in 1952, an 18 year old Henry Aaron was assigned by the Boston Braves to play in Eau Claire Wisconsin. The color barrier may have been broken by Jackie Robinson in Brooklyn in 1947, but many other players had to break that same barrier in towns across the country. On this Cover the Bases podcast, we talk with the author Jerry Poling whose book is titled A Summer Up North: Henry Aaron and the Legend of Eau Claire Baseball
The process started for Jerry back in 1994 when a statue dedicated to Hank Aaron was 
unveiled at the town ballpark called Carson Park. After the ceremony, as Jerry went about his life, he thought more and more about what really happened during those days Hank spent among the predominantly white townspeople of Eau Claire. The only other African-Americans in Eau Claire at the time would have been a couple of Aaron’s teammates on the Eau Claire Bears. It was also the first time that Hank had white teammates and a white manager.
Among his extensive research, Jerry explored the stories and anecdotes from those in the town who were around during that time period, getting first hand accounts of playing and rooting for the Bears. The player and the town were essentially growing up together, experiencing life in a new America.
Aaron made an immediate impact on the field, scorching line drives in his first two at bats, hitting .336 on the season, was a Northern League All-Star selection, and won Rookie of the Year honors. He was such a hot prospect that Boston Braves management would check in on a regular basis.
Carson Park is the ball field where Hank Aaron played for the Bears, and it is still a very prominent part of the City of Eau Claire. The park is still “The Home of Eau Claire Baseball”, and many other teams have used it for games including semi-pro, high school and college teams. Jerry tells of those great summer nights around town when the unmistakable sounds of a baseball game can be heard coming across the lake where the park sits.
It was not only Hank Aaron who embarked on their professional careers in Eau Claire. There is a long legacy of Boston, Milwaukee, and Atlanta Braves who put on the Bears uniform. Names such as Tony Cloninger, Bob Uecker, Rico Carty and Joe Torre will be familiar to Braves fans, and appear in the pages of A Summer up North.
There is a final part of this story that Jerry was directly involved in. There was a young girl in Eau Claire who befriended Hank and the two were considered boyfriend and girlfriend. Hank left town for good in the fall of 1952, never to have seen her again. While Jerry was researching the book he was able to reconnect the two long lost friends!
Hank Aaron came back to the Eau Claire in the Summer of 1994 for the dedication of the statue at Carson Park.
We express our sincere gratitude to Jerry Poling for sharing his story with us and for taking the time to appear on the Cover the Bases podcast. If you would like to contact Jerry about getting an autographed copy of his book, you can reach him at this email address. To shop at Amazon.com, follow this link to pick up a copy of A Summer Up North: Henry Aaron and the Legend of Eau Claire Baseball
If you like hearing about the baseball books we profile on Cover the Bases, it might be time for you to pick up a Kindle from Amazon, so that you can take all the best Baseball Books with you no matter which stadiums you visit.
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