Roberto Clemente Biography

Roberto Clemente Walker was born in Barrio San Anton in Carolina, Puerto Rico, on August 18, 1934. The son of Melchor Clemente and Luisa Walker, who worked in a sugar plantation, both also, ran a shop and sale of meat products.

Roberto was the youngest of seven brothers. From an early age he practiced all kinds of sports. And among them, soon become baseball in his greatest passion.

Active member of the Police Athletic League and parishioner Carolina Baptist Church, Robert excelled in track and field events, winning medals in javelin throw and short runs. He played amateur baseball with Juncos Club and went on to the ranks of the Santurce Crabbers in the Puerto Rico Winter League. Santurce was hired by the Montreal Club Triple an International League affiliate of the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Clemente joined the Pirates in 1955 and was in that club until 1972. His record within that team established as a regular member of the Pittsburgh Pirates for 18 seasons (1955-1972); I played in 2,433 games, had 9,454 at-bats; He scored 1,416 runs; He made 3,000 hits (the eleventh of twelve players to achieve this in the long history of 135 years of baseball including 250 homers).

Clemente participated in two World Series, batting 310 in 1960 and 414 in 1971. He was batting champion four times; He was selected the MVP of the National League of 1966; twelve times won the Gold Glove for his fielding ability and selected the MVP of the 1971 World Series.

He married in 1964 with Vera Cristina Zabala and had three children: Roberto Jr., Luis Roberto and Roberto Enrique. They had six, five and two years old when his father died. Roberto was a great father, a good son, good brother and a good husband. Person of great humanity who did much for others in the major leagues and did much to people, committed as it was the Gospel of Christian charity, interested in other people and children.

This explains why their fight was more than personal; was the struggle of race and the struggle of those less fortunate than himself. Certainly, he had genuine concern for humanity as a child of God and brother to all human beings.

The Christian virtues of Roberto Clemente led him to start a campaign for supplies and deliver them to the victims of the earthquake rocks of Managua, Nicaragua. Roberto had a tragic death when the plane was chartered to bring aid to earthquake victims crashed on December 31, 1972, New Year's Eve.

He had played for Santurce in Puerto Rico Winter League while a student and quickly attracted large with batting, fielding and throwing ability. Although the Milwaukee Braves offered him a signing bonus of $ 30,000, I manutvo a previous commitment to the Dodgers and signed for $ 10,000.
 

 However, he never played for Brooklyn or Los Angeles. A rule in effect at that time require that any player who signed for more than $ 4,000 was put on record in the major leagues after a year in the minors; otherwise, it could be signed by any other club for $ 4,000. Although the Dodgers tried to hide Clemente in Montreal to registration not to play him, he was claimed by the Pirates on November 22, 1954, for $ 4,000.

It was the best investment of Bucs since Honus Wagner. Clemente batted over .300 in thirteen seasons; won four batting crowns LN, finished with 3,000 hits, and ended a run of eighteen years with a career average of 317. NL MVP in 1966 was also selected to the All-Star Game twelve times.

A right fielder, Clemente earned twelve consecutive Gold Gloves. In 1958 he brought 22 runners to win the first of a record five titles assists. Star World Series, led the Bucs to championships in 1960 and 1971 and hit safe in every World Series game in which he played. In 1971 he took a run in the sixth and seventh game; he batted .414 with 12 hits, fielded without error, and was chosen MVP of the Series.

Clemente was suffering from back injuries throughout his career, as a result of arthritic spine caused by a car accident. He died in a plane crash on New Year's Eve in 1972, when he had a supply of food and medicine to earthquake victims in Nicaragua.

The usual five-year waiting was ignored, and in 1973 became the first Hispanic member of the Hall of Fame. Later he became the second baseball player after Jackie Robinson, to be portrayed on postage stamps of the United States.

Some of his posthumous honors and recognitions

• April 1973 ceremony was held to withdraw the number 21 team Pittsburgh Pirates.
• May 1973 - Former President Richard Nixon gave his widow Vera Clemente, the First Citizen Medal Posthumous.
• August 1973 - was inducted into the Hall of Fame baseball in Cooperstown, New York.
• 1973 - Awarded the name of Roberto Clemente Coliseum to the first capital city of San Juan, Puerto Rico.
• 1984 - The Post Office in Washington issued a postage stamp honoring his memory.
• 1998 - The recording industry publishes a musical based on his life. This recording, produced by Larry Harlow, was chosen as one of the highlights of the year by the National Foundation for Popular Culture.