The Sports Legend Denny's Named Its Most Popular Breakfast Item After

Denny's Grand Slam is easily the restaurant's most recognizable meal that comes with two fresh-made buttermilk pancakes, two eggs cooked to your preference, two strips of bacon, and two sausage links. While there are some Denny's Grand Slam alternatives we wish would come back, this famous breakfast wouldn't exist without the late and great MLB legend Hank Aaron.

The original Grand Slam was introduced in 1977 and featured two pancakes, two eggs, two bacon strips, and two sausage links. The breakfast was made to honor Aaron for hitting 755 home runs throughout his career, passing Babe Ruth's home run record of 714. At the time, Aaron was playing for the Atlanta Braves. It was in Atlanta where the player made his claim to fame and planted his roots after retiring from the game. However, his accomplishments did not end there, as he would soon be inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame in 1982. 

Aaron was known for his polite and humble demeanor, but would be outspoken during civil rights discussions. Moreover, he was an advocate for Black participation in professional baseball and became the first Black executive for the MLB.  Aaron had a successful baseball career, among many other accomplishments, which included operating several restaurant franchises.

After retiring from his 23-year-long baseball career and having the Grand Slam named after him, the legend found interest in the restaurant business in 1986. The Star partnered with Arby's in 1986, a time when Arby's was on a wild ride that took the chain from fast food punchline to fast food icon. 

Aaron worked with the franchise to create its R.B.I. program. Essentially, for every "Run Batted In", or "R.B.I.", Arby's would donate $1,000 to Big Brothers Big Sisters of America — the average annual donation was around $250,000. The idea stemmed from Arby's vice president of marketing at the time, Frank Belatti, who was inspired by the acronym R.B.I., phonetically sounding like the brand name Arby's. Aaron would take over ownership of the Milwaukee area Arby's location that same year.

The MLB legend opened 10 more Arby's locations before returning to the Atlanta franchise with Church's Chicken and Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen. His goal in entering the restaurant industry was to create opportunities for other people through offering jobs. Partnered with his son-in-law, Victor Haydel, the two opened up Krispy Kreme locations and one of the largest Popeyes Louisiana Chicken operations in Atlanta. Through Aaron's philanthropic efforts that brought opportunity to others, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2002 by former President George W Bush. Later, Aaron's legacy would be exhibited in the MLB Hall of Fame in 2009.