The National Baseball Hall of Fame will unveil a statue of Hank Aaron on May 23, said Jane Forbes Clark, the Hall of Fame’s chairman of the board.

Clark made the announcement on Monday, the 50th anniversary of Aaron replacing Babe Ruth as Major League Baseball’s career home run leader. The announcement came in conjunction with the opening of the exhibit “More Than Brave: The Life of Henry Aaron” at the Atlanta History Center.

“The legacy of Hank Aaron has always been about so much more than just his incredible baseball achievements,” Clark said. “His philanthropic vision, his support of youth empowerment efforts and his pioneering work as an executive have opened the doors of opportunity for millions throughout the United States and around the world. We are extremely privileged to care for and preserve his entire personal collection in Cooperstown, and this statue will stand forever as a tribute to an American hero.”

In 2010, Aaron pledged his personal collection to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, with some of the items on loan to the Atlanta History Center for its new exhibit.

The Mobile native’s Hall of Fame plaque also was on display outside of the Cooperstown, New York, museum for the exhibit’s opening and was being taken to the Atlanta Braves’ Truist Park for their celebration on Monday night of Aaron’s record-breaking 715th home run.

Aaron hit the historic homer for the Braves on April 8, 1972.

The bronze statue of Aaron will be installed on the first floor of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

“Henry would be as pleased and excited as I am to have his statue placed at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown,” Aaron’s widow Billye Aaron said. “His life and legacy reflected his high hopes and big dreams. Both inspired and propelled him to incredible accomplishments in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles. He wanted to be an inspiration to young boys and girls everywhere. My heartfelt thanks to Jane Forbes Clark and the Board of Directors for this very fitting tribute to Henry and the sport he loved so dearly. I am profoundly grateful. My hope is that this recognition will serve as an inspiration to visitors to Cooperstown for generations to come.”

Aaron, who died in 2021, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1982. In 2009, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum opened “Hank Aaron: Chasing the Dream,” a third-floor exhibit that chronicles Aaron’s life.

The statue unveiling will be held in conjunction with the opening of the exhibit “The Souls of the Game: Voices of Black Baseball.”

Hall of Fame members will be on hand for the opening during the weekend and more than two dozen former MLB players will take part in a legends game at Doubleday Field on May 25.

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.