Roberto Clemente

1934–1972 · 38 years Tier I

The javelin thrower who made them say his name right

Portrait of Roberto Clemente — Unknown author — 1957 — Public domain via Wikimedia Commons

He was the youngest of the seven children in his mother's house in Barrio San Antón in Carolina, Puerto Rico. His father Melchor was a foreman over sugar cane crews, and money was short enough that the boys loaded and unloaded trucks in the fields alongside him. At Julio Vizcarrondo High School Clemente threw the javelin and cleared the high jump, and was thought good enough to represent Puerto Rico at the Olympics. He said afterward that the javelin was what built the arm — the footwork, the release, the whole motion carried over. At 14 a man named Roberto Marín put him on a softball team sponsored by a rice company, first at shortstop and then in the outfield. He turned professional at 18 with the Cangrejeros de Santurce.

Brooklyn signed him on February 19, 1954 for a 10,000-dollar bonus, which under the rules of the day made him a bonus baby, and parked him at Montreal, where he hit .257 in 87 games. Pittsburgh took him first in the draft that November, and he played the next 18 seasons in one uniform. Four batting titles. Twelve consecutive Gold Gloves, from 1961 through his last season. Most Valuable Player in 1966. World Series champion in 1960 and again in 1971, when he was the Series MVP. He batted over .300 in 13 seasons and finished at .317. On September 30, 1972 he doubled off Jon Matlack of the Mets at Three Rivers Stadium for his 3,000th hit, and never batted in a regular-season game again.

A drunk driver hit his car in 1954 and did damage to his back that stayed with him. When he named his ailments to reporters they decided he was a complainer, and one teammate later wrote that the writers baited him into saying something controversial so they could report that the Puerto Rican hot dog was popping off again. His own hometown paper put it flatly: he was a Black Puerto Rican, which made him doubly dubious, his tongue foreign to button-down America and so was his color. Sportswriters called him Bob and Bobby to make him sound American, and his baseball cards read Bob Clemente until 1969. He corrected them after games for years and they kept doing it. Six months of Marine Corps training put 10 pounds on him and, he said, took the back trouble away.

An earthquake destroyed Managua on December 23, 1972. Clemente had been there three weeks earlier managing Puerto Rico at the Amateur World Series, and set about organizing relief flights. When he learned that officials of the Somoza government had diverted the cargo on the first three planes, he decided to ride the fourth so that it would land where it was meant to. The chartered DC-7 was 4,200 pounds overloaded and went into the sea off Isla Verde. An empty flight case was the only thing of his recovered. Manny Sanguillén skipped the memorial service and dove the wreck site instead. The Hall of Fame waived its waiting period and elected him in March 1973, and Pittsburgh retired number 21.

Lifespan

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Roberto Clemente's life against the full span of the corpus.

Notable works

World Series Most Valuable Player other
Pittsburgh beat Baltimore in seven games 1971
Twelve consecutive Gold Gloves other
From 1961 through his last season, without a break 1972
Three thousand hits other
A double off Jon Matlack on September 30 — his final regular-season at-bat 1972
The Nicaragua relief flights mission
Four planeloads of earthquake aid. He boarded the last one himself 1972

Life in brief

with age at each point

1948 aged ~14 Recruited at 14 to a softball team sponsored by a rice company Roberto Marín saw him playing in the barrio and put him at shortstop.
February 19, 1954 aged 19 Signs with the Brooklyn Dodgers for a 10,000-dollar bonus They sent him to Montreal, where he hit .257 in 87 games.
November 22, 1954 aged 20 Pittsburgh takes him first in the Rule 5 draft
April 17, 1955 aged 20 Debuts for the Pirates wearing number 13
September 1958 aged 24 Joins the Marine Corps Reserve Six months of active duty at Parris Island, Camp Lejeune and Washington. He said it fixed his back.
November 14, 1964 aged 30 Marries Vera Zabala at San Fernando Church in Carolina They had three sons.
1966 aged ~32 Named National League Most Valuable Player The first player from Latin America or the Caribbean to win it.
September 30, 1972 aged 38 Doubles off Jon Matlack for his 3,000th hit
December 31, 1972 aged 38 His chartered DC-7 goes down off Isla Verde The plane was 4,200 pounds overloaded. His body was never recovered.