Roberto Clemente is a true Puerto Rican hero. A giant in the Major League Baseball records, he is also known as an educator and humanitarian. He is among the best-known Hispanic American heroes.
Early life
Born in Carolina, Puerto Rico, to Melchor Clemente and Luisa Walker, he grew up in a sugar-producing community. His father was a foreman at the sugarcane plantation, while his mother prepared lunches for the plantation. When the sugar industry collapsed, Roberto’s father went into construction and his mother became a cleaner.
Clemente showed early athletic promise in school, where he won medals in track and field. He played softball and baseball in local clubs, and then caught the eye of scouts for the Santurce Crabbers. At 17, he joined their winter team. Once again, a scout was impressed by Clemente’s talent. He played for the Dodgers in the minor leagues until, in 1954, he was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Career with the Pirates
Clemente won every award in Major League Baseball, culminating in his posthumous induction into the Major League Hall of Fame. This list encapsulates the honors he received on the field:
- NL MVP Award: 1966
- NL Player of the Month Award: May 1960, May 1967, July 1969
- World Series MVP Award: 1971
- NL Gold Glove Award: 1961–1972
- Commissioner’s Historic Achievement Award: 2006
- NL All-Star: 1960–1967, 1969–1972
- NL leader in batting average: 1961, 1964, 1965, 1967
- NL leader in hits: 1964, 1967
- NL leader in triples: 1969
- NL leader in putouts as right fielder: 1958, 1961, 1966
- NL leader in fielding average as right fielder and outfielder: 1972
Clemente was also inducted into the Marine Corps Sports Hall of Fame and the Puerto Rico Veteran’s Hall of Fame, honoring his service in the U.S. Marines.
Yet, in spite of his undoubted talent and dedication, Clemente encountered racial discrimination during his illustrious career. When the team went to Ft. Myers, Florida, for training, they discovered that black players and white players were not allowed to stay in the same hotels or eat in the same restaurants. Learning that black players usually stayed on the team bus while white players had their meals and brought plates ou to their black teammates, Clemente insisted on separate transportation so all the players could have their meals fresh and hot, albeit in segregated restaurants.
He also denounced the segregation and pushed for greater equality for all the players. He also spoke out against disrespect and racial slurs from sportswriters and baseball fans. “People had the wrong opinion,” he said in a 1971 interview, referring to black and Latino players. “They never questioned our ability, but they considered us inferior in our station of life.”
Giving back to the community
Clemente’s activism was inseparable from his baseball prowess. He insisted on being treated with dignity, and always treated others in the same way. Instead of staying quiet about political issues, he used his growing platform to make points about racism, language discrimination, and civil rights. As the National Museum of American History puts it, “Clemente’s stellar play and outspokenness against racism and discrimination commanded national and international attention.”
He took practical action, too. He held baseball clinics for young people in Puerto Rico, provided baseball gear to young players, gave food and clothing to those in need, and established the Roberto Clemente Foundation to carry on his work in the future.
In 1972, he was in Managua, Nicaragua, as manager of Puerto Rico’s national amateur baseball team for the Amateur World Series. On December 23 of that year, a devastating earthquake hit Managua. He formed a relief effort from his home in Puerto Rico, fundraising through public appearances and even going door to door in wealthier neighborhoods on the Island. He was able to raise more than $150,000 and 26 tons of supplies.
Clemente arranged for shipments of supplies, but heard that some had been diverted before reaching their destination. He decided to go along with the next shipment. On December 31, he boarded a chartered plane — which crashed into the ocean soon after takeoff. Clemente and four other people died in the accident.
Recognition
Clemente won numerous awards for his baseball career, cut short by his tragic death at 38. But there have been other honors as well. He received the Congressional Gold Medal, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the Presidential Citizens Medal, and U.S. stamps were issued with his name and face.
Following his death, many organizations and communities remembered Clemente in other ways, naming streets, schools, and other public buildings after him. The Roberto Clemente Award is Major League Baseball’s annual honor for a player who most exemplifies extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy, and positive contributions both on and off the field.
More recently, the U.S. Congress has introduced bills to strike a commemorative coin and raise a statue at the capitol. Roberto Clemente’s legacy lives on.
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