I saw him play. Live. He was as graceful on the field as off-field. I have never heard bad things about him. A true class act.

"Old film of athletes rarely ages well. You see black and white footage of Bob Cousy dribbling in circles or Jim Brown running over would-be tacklers half his size or Babe Ruth swinging that tree trunk of a bat in what looks like fast-forward speed, and it's hard to connect with their greatness. There's a brilliance and magic about their talents that doesn't quite translate, that does not travel through the years.

But every now and again, there's a rare athlete whose gifts are so beautiful, so pure, so timeless that the crackling video looks as modern and fresh as if it was taken yesterday. Just watch Roberto Clemente throw a baseball..."

Ah yes, The Great One. As a kid, I saw him play a few times at Three Rivers Stadium. Along with 9/11 and the 1981 attempt on Ronald Reagan's life, I will never forget where I was on New Year's Day 1973. For me baseball was never the same.

He was my favorite player when I was a kid & I was fortunate to see him play in both Forbes Field & Three Rivers Stadium.

I'm not a sports fan but I remember Roberto Clemente and when he died. He was a hero beyond his sport.

Here's a story I remembered just now.

I used to date a girl whose mother was Roberto's 7th grade teacher. At that time Roberto was nowhere near the man he grew up to be. She told me that one day after school, Roberto threw a rock at her and hit her right smack on the calf. It took about three months to fully heal.

When she told me about it, she commented, "Boy, did that kid throw hard!". IIRC, she was his English teacher. Lessons lost, he was never a good student.

Another story. Someone gave me a team photo of Clemente when he played amateur baseball. I figure he was 16 or 17 at the time. Every single person that saw that photo could immediately tell who was going to be a MLB player. Amazing how he stood out from the group. Later on in life he gained weight but his physique was intact.

And he had a hell of an arm. Watching him throw out runners at home plate was fun.

Even though he had back and leg problems, he was the ultimate hypochondriac.

Many times before a game he would say that he wasn't feeling well. But by game's end, he had hit a triple, couple of doubles, made great catches that he made look easy-peasy or whatever.

He always hustled out of the box. He loved to play and never complained about his salary. Mr. Galbreath would bring him the contract and he would immediately sign. IIRC, he never made more than $50,000.00 per season.

WRONG. Looked it up. The most he made was $150,000.00 in 1972. https://www.baseball-reference...html#all_br-salaries

And the canasta(basket) catches he made. Drove managers crazy at the beginning. Raving mad. Never before heard curses...

Btw, twelve (12) Golden Gloves in 18 seasons. Twelve straight.

I was fortunate enough at age 13 to see him hit is 3000th and last career hit at 3 Rivers. I was midway through my Little League career and Clemente was one of my Hero's. We always sat out in right field in hopes of getting to see him throw one of his famous home plate strikes!

Little-known fact.

He was a Marine. https://mlbforlife.com/2012/12...ve-roberto-clemente/ Or should I say, still is.

The Great One!
The first Pirate game I attended was in 1966 at Forbes Field. Batting third, playing right field, Roberto Clemente! It was bat day.
Great memories!

If you guys are ever in Pittsburgh there’s a Roberto Clemente museum that is an old renovated fire house. It’s pretty cool and the added bonus is there’s a winery in the basement

I have done some medical missions to Nicaragua and his work down there and subsequent death trying to help them turned him into a national hero.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Dusty78,

He died when I was 2 years old so I have no memories to share but reading this thread and sensing the enthusiasm for events and memories 5 decades old make me smile. God I love baseball for that reason alone.

jehzsa, thanks for the thread. Born and raised in Pittsburgh, actually two blocks from where Forbes Field stood, my family history has been intertwined with the Pirates long before I was born in 1964. My father worked for the Pirates and was an assistant to Branch Rickey in the 50's.

If any of you are familiar with Oakland or the Hill District, my dad lived his whole life along Centre Ave.......my dad lived on Clarissa St. in the upper Hill when it was really all ethnic, more a poor neighborhood than a "black vs. white" neighborhood.

So working for Mr. Rickey when Clemente was a Rule 5 draftee by the Pirates, his first year in Pittsburgh was truly a struggle. Roberto did not consider himself a black man, but a Latin. Outside of any other Latin ballplayers though, he may very well have been one of the few Latin people in Pittsburgh. Because of the darkness of his skin, though, he was viewed as black. Pittsburgh was like many American cities and was heavily segregated. Since my dad grew up in the Hill District, and Roberto was still much on his own, my dad would take him to restaurants and clubs in the Hill where he could eat or be served with no issues......my dad's strongest memories of Roberto were the pride that he had in being a Latin ballplayer and his anger at being treated as a second class citizen. After several months, Roberto had figured out where he could go on his own and so my dad didn't see him much one on one after that.

My mom's father immigrated from Italy and settled in Oakland with many, many other relatives from the Abruzzi area. My Pap worked for the City of Pittsburgh Maintenance and also moonlighted as the head Usher at Forbes Field and later at Three Rivers until his death in October of 1979. Yes, during the series with the Orioles. Once he got to heaven, the O's didn't have a chance.
We lived mere steps from Forbes Field, at the corner of Bates St. and Boquet St. until my parents moved out to the suburbs. We had relatives on that street up until only a few years ago. But Pap would bring ballplayers home after a Sunday afternoon game for dinner, since a lot of them didn't make anywhere near the money that there is today.

I was so, so lucky. Grew up loving sports and in the window from 1970-1992, got to see World Series, Super Bowl, Stanley Cup and NCAA Football Championships.

quote:

Originally posted by Dusty78:
If you guys are ever in Pittsburgh there’s a Roberto Clemente museum that is an old renovy before house. It’s pretty cool and the added bonus is there’s a winery in the basement

I have done some medical missions to Nicaragua and his work down there and subsequent death trying to help them turned him into a national hero.

Excellent shout out! The museum is nowhere near where anyone would think to find a baseball or Clemente museum, but is in the Lawrenceville neighborhood right on the end of the Butler St. side closest to downtown. Fantastic area to kill a Saturday eating, drinking and visiting the museum.

And thank you for your stories, PghPI.

I am certain that your dad and Roberto had a wonderful reunion in October 1979.

And it was his turn to show him around.

I wasn't around to see him play but, all the film of him I saw, I placed him right up there with Willie Mays and Joe DiMaggio as the greatest to ever play.

I understand he was difficult and surly...was that because the reporters were asses or, he was dealing with the social setting that wasn't as accepting of non-whites?

quote:

Originally posted by corsair:
I wasn't around to see him play but, all the film of him I saw, I placed him right up there with Willie Mays and Joe DiMaggio as the greatest to ever play.

I understand he was difficult and surly...was that because the reporters were asses or, he was dealing with the social setting that wasn't as accepting of non-whites?

I believe that it was more due to the social issues in America than reporters. Reporters back then wrote more to support the game and not to make their own names important. Remember in Puerto Rico, he was an icon. He came here and was treated like a second class citizen. He carried that with him every day.

Great player and Man.

quote:

I understand he was difficult and surly

From the article I linked to:

"The baseball press was hard on Clemente in those younger days … and he was hard on them in return. They made fun of his English sometimes. They questioned his effort. They treated him differently than they did white players. He lashed out at them and used the energy to create this whirlwind of a ballplayer.

"Anger for Roberto Clemente," local Pittsburgh columnist Roy McHugh would write, "is the fuel that makes the wheels turn in his never-ending pursuit of excellence. When the supply runs low, Clemente manufactures some more."

He did rage. In this way, he was like one of his heroes, Jackie Robinson. He was unwilling to simply accept what he saw as injustice. He was not one to say nothing.

"You writers are all the same," he shouted at one reporter. "You don't know a damn thing about me."

Over time, he earned the reporters' respect and the fans' respect not only with his glorious play -- the wonderful arm, the line drives, the 166 triples he hit because he always ran out of the box hard -- but because he softened, too. He matured. As the years went along and he became an established star, everyone could see Clemente becoming a more patient, understanding man. He sought to understand positions he did not agree with. He worked hard to help people in need. As Maraniss said, "He was growing as a human being late in his career, the opposite trajectory of most athletes."