Henry Aaron and the 1994 Strike
This article was written by Dan Schlossberg
This article was published in Henry Aaron book essays (2026)
Hank Aaron’s 23-year career as an active player was interrupted by a broken leg, suffered near the end of his rookie year in 1954, but never by a work stoppage.
Not surprisingly, the reigning home-run king was chagrined that team owners and the players union lost part of the 1994 season, the entire ’94 postseason, and a small piece of the 1995 campaign because of a player strike that lasted 232 days.
Then an executive with the Atlanta Braves, the former outfielder said the strike hurt the integrity of the sport plus the relationship among the players, owners, and fans.
The strike started on August 12, 1994, and stretched until April 2, 1995, creating strong negative feelings from fans who felt betrayed by alleged greed and avarice on both sides.
Though retired as a player on the field, Aaron remained a player off the field – as co-founder of the Chasing the Dream Foundation with his wife, Billye, and as an outspoken advocate for civil rights.
The nonprofit foundation, which raised college scholarship funds for disadvantaged children, was created the same year as the strike, which turned out to be the longest work stoppage in the history of the game.
DAN SCHLOSSBERG is the author, co-author, or editor of 43 baseball books, including biographies of Hank Aaron written 50 years apart and collaborations with Ron Blomberg, Al Clark, and Milo Hamilton. The former AP sportswriter, who has covered baseball since he graduated from Syracuse University in 1969, has been the weekend editor of the Here’s the Pitch newsletter since its creation in 2020 and the national baseball writer for forbes.com since June 2018. A SABR member since 1981, he is also an award-winning travel writer and founder of the North American Travel Journalists Association. He is a lifelong resident of Northern New Jersey.