I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2635 

To award a Congressional Gold Medal to Hank Aaron, in recognition of 

his contributions to the national pastime of baseball and his perseverance 

in overcoming discrimination and adversity to become a role model for 

all Americans. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 9, 2013 

Mr. KIND (for himself and Mr. BONNER) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To award a Congressional Gold Medal to Hank Aaron, in 

recognition of his contributions to the national pastime 

of baseball and his perseverance in overcoming discrimination and adversity to become a role model for all 

Americans. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Hank Aaron Congres5 sional Gold Medal Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds as follows: 


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1 (1) Henry Louis ‘‘Hank’’ Aaron was born in 

2 Mobile, Alabama on February 5, 1934, to Herbert 

3 and Estella Aaron. 

4 (2) One of baseball’s greatest players, Hank 

5 Aaron broke many of the sport’s most distinguished 

6 records including the career home run record, which 

7 he held for over 33 years. 

8 (3) Hank Aaron began his baseball career while 

9 still in high school, playing semi-professionally for 

10 the Mobile Black Bears. He continued on to the In11 dianapolis Clowns whom he helped lead to victory in 

12 the Negro League World Series. 

13 (4) Hank Aaron rocketed through the Minor 

14 Leagues, being named the Northern League Rookie 

15 of the Year playing for the Eau Claire Bears in 

16 1952 and MVP of the South Atlantic League play17 ing for the Jacksonville Tars in 1953. 

18 (5) In 1954 Hank Aaron started his 23-year 

19 career in Major League Baseball playing for the Mil20 waukee Braves. He played with the Braves for 21 

21 years, following them to Atlanta when they moved in 

22 1966. In his final two years in the Major League, 

23 he played for the Milwaukee Brewers. 

24 (6) To this day, Hank Aaron holds several 

25 Major League records, including most career RBIs 


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1 (2,297), most career extra base hits (1,477), most 

2 career total bases (6,856), and most consecutive sea3 sons with 150 or more hits (17). 

4 (7) On April 8, 1974, Hank Aaron broke Babe 

5 Ruth’s career home run record. At the end of his ca6 reer, Hank Aaron had 755 home runs, a record that 

7 was not beaten until 2007 by Barry Bonds. 

8 (8) Hank Aaron made the All Star Team for 21 

9 consecutive years, from 1955 to 1975. 

10 (9) Hank Aaron has received numerous awards 

11 for his prowess in Major League baseball, including 

12 3 Golden Gloves, 2 National League batting titles, 

13 4 National League home run champion titles, and 

14 the Major League Lou Gehrig Memorial Award. He 

15 was also named National League MVP in 1957. 

16 (10) Hank Aaron has been recognized for his 

17 success by many people and institutions. He was in18 ducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982, re19 ceived a Presidential Citizens Medal from President 

20 Bill Clinton, and a Presidential Medal of Freedom 

21 from President George W. Bush. He was awarded 

22 the Spingarn Medal from the NAACP (’76) for out23 standing achievement by an African American. 

24 (11) A great sportsman who constantly pushed 

25 the limits of the game, as well as the cultural limits 


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1 of the time, Hank Aaron is a true American role 

2 model and will inspire Americans for generations to 

3 come. 

4 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

5 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 

6 the House of Representatives and the President pro tem7 pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 

8 for the presentation, on behalf of the Congress, of a gold 

9 medal of appropriate design to Hank Aaron, in recognition 

10 of his contributions to the national pastime of baseball and 

11 his perseverance in overcoming discrimination and adver12 sity to become a role model for all Americans. 

13 (b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For purposes of the 

14 presentation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary 

15 of the Treasury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the 

16 ‘‘Secretary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable em17 blems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the 

18 Secretary. 

19 SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

20 The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

21 bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 3 

22 under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, at 

23 a price sufficient to cover the cost thereof, including labor, 

24 materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses, 

25 and the cost of the gold medal. 


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1 SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 

2 (a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—The medals struck pursu3 ant to this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 

4 51 of title 31, United States Code. 

5 (b) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of section 

6 5134 of title 31, United States Code, all medals struck 

7 under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic items. 

8 SEC. 6. AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS; PROCEEDS OF 

9 SALE. 

10 (a) AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS.—There is 

11 authorized to be charged against the United States Mint 

12 Public Enterprise Fund, such amounts as may be nec13 essary to pay for the costs of the medals struck pursuant 

14 to this Act. 

15 (b) PROCEEDS OF SALE.—Amounts received from the 

16 sale of duplicate bronze medals authorized under section 

17 4 shall be deposited into the United States Mint Public 

18 Enterprise Fund. 

Æ 


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