And I remember waking up on that snowy New Year's Day to the news on KDKA radio that Clemente's plane had gone down delivering material to Nicaragua after a devastating earthquake. I had never heard of Nicaragua, and we hung on the radio all day waiting for news that there were any survivors, that Clemente was alive. It took many days to sink in that he was truly gone. It was a privilege to have seen him play, to have him be a Pirate.

He was from the era where right or wrong, I believed professional athletes were heroes of the common man for the good they tried to do with their influence. I remember thinking I wanted to be like them; if not professionally, then in character. That perspective of pro athletes has been tarnished by modern behaviors, but the desire to emulate the good ones hasn't. In cases like Roberto's I make myself feel better about his loss by believing some spirits have proven themselves too good to be confined by the decline of this world. God bless him.

I find all the greats still have a grace about then that is everlasting. A tragic death always adds and element that makes them unique. It does not diminish the man or his accomplishments.
Nor should it make him better than he was. It just adds that element.

He was a great player and back then the Pirates had some great teams

I don't know if the following reached the states but about a month, month-and-a-half after the incident of December 31, 1972, his wife reminisced about it.

New year's eve being a big thing in Puerto Rico then, she recriminated him for thinking of taking the flight. He stated that he had received information that other planeloads that he had sent were hoarded, presumably to be sold later for profit. He wanted to make certain that that planeload reached those in need. So he took the flight.

And life goes on...

jehzsa, I see you are from Tampa. My cousin is your new Chief of Police. His mom and my mom are sisters. So lmk if you ever need a get out of jail card. LOL.

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lmk if you ever need a get out of jail card

Can you get me three or four of those?

In 1986 Wheaties had Clemente on their boxes down in BVI.

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

Very well said. He was much more than just a ball player.

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Originally posted by PghPI:

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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.

Yup I recommend arsenal cider house for some fresh cider if you’ve never been. It’s actually an old row house. Cantina was always great too. If you want the best steak sandwich ever head over to Gaucho in the strip. Noodle Head in Shadyside is probably my favorite pad Thai in the world and I’ve been to Thai land. I do miss the burgh sometimes.

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In 1986 Wheaties had Clemente on their boxes down in BVI.

Interesting. I had no idea about that. It's not like the BVI is/was a baseball mecca.

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I understand he was difficult and surly

"He's Puertorican. We can assume that that is technically correct."



ETA: For those that didn't know, I was born and raised in Puerto Rico.

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

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Originally posted by darthfuster:
He was from the era where right or wrong, I believed professional athletes were heroes of the common man for the good they tried to do with their influence. I remember thinking I wanted to be like them; if not professionally, then in character. That perspective of pro athletes has been tarnished by modern behaviors, but the desire to emulate the good ones hasn't. In cases like Roberto's I make myself feel better about his loss by believing some spirits have proven themselves too good to be confined by the decline of this world. God bless him.

I don't think it has anything to do with "modern behaviors," it's more like a "modern paycheck." Back then only the greats truly made any decent money. With the growing popularity of all sports, huge TV deals and huge contracts, that's what changed things.

My Dad and Granddad used to tell stories about the Baltimore Colts and their various side jobs they all had in the offseason. Those days are long gone when even a scrub in the NFL is making league minimum, i.e. several hundred thousand dollars.

Re: Clemente, I think he was the only Pirate my Granddad would say anything good about.

Besides being a great human being he was one of the greatest 5 tool players.
However, (I disagree) he was only honorable mention in > THIS article with Willie Mays being the greatest (I agree).
I always ranked Roberto as number two.