Roberto Walker Clemente

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Roberto Clemente is a hero in my perspective because he was a man who people loved, no matter his color, regardless whether he was in Puerto Rico or Pittsburgh. He was born the youngest of 7 children to his parents, Melchor Clemente and Luisa Walker. As a boy, he wanted to play baseball, but due to his race, he usually found himself playing against neighboring barrios. He even began working at a very young age by delivering milk cans to his neighbors to help make money for his family. His father also worked as a foreman of sugar crops in the municipality

Roberto Clemente Game Day Picture (Google Images (Getty Images))

Clemente's baseball career began when he began his freshman year when he was signed to Puerto Rico's amateur team when he was 16 years old. He was recruited by Roberto Marin to play softball with the Selli Rojo after he'd seen Clemente play baseball in Barrio San Anton. A while later, Pedrin Zorilla offered him a contract with the Santurce Crabbers, a LBBPR team. After his 1st season with the Crabbers as a bench player, he was promoted to the starting lineup and batted .288 that season. When Clemente was promoted to the big leagues in the early 1950s, at first he had racial criticism from fans, media, and teammates alike, but as time went on, everyone learned to accept him.

Roberto Clemente Baseball Card (Google Images (Getty Images))

Early into the 1960 season, Clemente led the majors in batting average with a BA of .353 and had RBIs in the 25 out of 27 games he had played in up to that point. Clemente's BA stayed over .300 the whole season, which is a very difficult accomplishment to achieve in baseball. Prior to playing right field, he was selected as the starting right fielder for the All-Star Game. That same season, the Pirates finished with a 95-59 record, which claimed them the NL pennant, and sent them to the World Series, where they beat the New York Yankees in a 7-game series. A few years later in 1964, Clemente married Vera Zabala, and they had 3 children: Roberto Jr., Luis Roberto, and Enrique Roberto.

On December 23rd, 1972, the capital of Nicaragua, Managua, was affected by a massive earthquake that sent all in the city into terrible conditions. Clemente wanted to help with relief efforts, so he chose to go on the 4th relief plane to Managua to help with relief efforts. The plane had a history of mechanical problems, and immediately after takeoff, the plane crashed into the open ocean and killed everyone, including Clemente. Everyone on his team except his catcher, Manny Sanguillen attended the funeral, and Manny dove into the ocean to find Clemente's body, which was never recovered. Along with Lou Gehrig and Thurmon Munson, Clemente was allowed to enter the Hall of Fame without the usual 5 year waiting period.