Nicknamed "Mex" because he was of Mexican descent, Aguirre was born on January 31, 1931, in Azusa, California, to Jenny Alvarez, a Mexican immigrant and Jose Aguirre. Jose was born in Jalisco, Mexico in 1902 and emigrated with his family during the time of the Mexican Revolution. Jose and Jenny had seven children.\n', '

In his youth, Hank Aguirre worked for his father\'s business, the Aguirre Tortillas Factory in San Gabriel. He made, packaged and delivered tortillas. At 4 a.m., the young Aguirre would make deliveries — mostly running — before school. He graduated from Mark Keppel High School in Alhambra, California, in 1949, but his "goofy feet" (his words) prevented him from being selected to be part of the baseball team. Hank graduated from East Los Angeles College in 1951.\n', '

As a rookie for the Cleveland Indians in 1956, Aguirre struck out Boston Red Sox legend Ted Williams the first time he faced him. After the game, Aguirre asked Williams to autograph the ball. Reluctantly, Williams complied. A couple of weeks later Aguirre faced Williams again. This time the "Splendid Splinter" smashed Aguirre\'s first offering for a home run. While circling the bases, Williams yelled to Aguirre, "Get that ball, and I\'ll sign it, too."\n', '

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