Oris Scores Big With Hank Aaron Limited Edition

Baseball Hall-of-Famer, Hank Aaron was one of the sport’s all-time greats, on and off the field. Oris dedicates a new limited edition to the extraordinary life and humanitarian work of Hank Aaron, who devoted his life to improving the chances of others.

The watch is based on Oris’s signature design, the Big Crown Pointer Date, with touches that point to the great man and his record-breaking career. Hank Aaron’s famous baseball uniform inspires the color palette of blue, red, and white. The palette is subtly applied to reflect Aaron’s humble attitude: in the blue-outlined red numerals; in the red-outlined blue minutes ring that runs around the dial; and in the blue leather strap, which is finished with white stitching akin to the stitching on a baseball glove. It comes with an interchangeable blue, red, and white NATO fabric strap and a strap change tool.

Beyond, the watch is the familiar Big Crown, with a smooth, ergonomic round case in 40mm of stainless steel; a central pointer date hand with a red tip; a fluted bezel reminiscent of classic pilot’s watches; and an oversized crown, first added to an Oris watch in 1938 as a device for gloved airmen. The caseback is engraved with a motif of Hank Aaron and his famous cross-handed batting stance, another thing that set him apart in the world of baseball.

His Finest Hours

Henry Louis “Hank” Aaron was one of the greatest athletes and humanitarians of the past half century. He never sought the spotlight, but it found him because of his many achievements.

Aaron was also one of the greats in Major League Baseball (MLB) history. Throughout his career, he encountered racism on and off the field, yet rose above it with grace and dignity to become a symbol of perseverance and strength through adversity, and an agent of social change.

Born in Mobile, Alabama, in 1934, Aaron was a natural athlete and entered baseball’s Negro Leagues in 1951, at a time when black players still endured segregation. In 1954, he was recruited to MLB by the Milwaukee Braves, which later became the Atlanta Braves.

By 1974, Aaron was chasing down Babe Ruth’s all-time home run record, which had stood for almost 40 years. As he bore down on the record, he received hate mail and threats. But again, he persevered, breaking the record on April 8 of that year. By the time he retired aged 42 in 1976, Aaron had set a number of MLB records, some that still stand today: most career runs batted in (RBI) at 2,297, and total bases (6,856). He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1986, and in 1999, MLB created the Hank Aaron Award, awarded annually to the best overall offensive performer in each league.

Aaron’s humility on the field would shine through in his retirement. In 1994, he and his wife Billye founded the Chasing the Dream Foundation, awarding millions of dollars in scholarships to youth with limited opportunities. To date, it’s helped over 800 kids into higher education, many going on to become athletes, musicians, doctors, scientists and, most importantly, educators.

Aaron died in 2021, a baseball great, and an even greater humanitarian. As he said: “I am not concerned with how I am perceived as a baseball player. I am concerned with how I am thought of as a human being.”

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