Roberto Clemente Walker

The Pittsburgh Pirates drafted Roberto Clemente as a number one pick in 1954. He led his team to two World Series victories. He became the National League Batting Champ four times, and won an astonishing twelve Gold Gloves. He also became a member of the 3,000 Hit Club. In 1973 Roberto Clemente was inducted into Cooperstown, the home of the Baseball Hall of Fame. He is arguably one of the greatest well-rounded baseball players there ever was. Aside from all of these accomplishments he was one of the greatest humanitarians to ever live.

On the 18th of August in 1934 a legend was born. Roberto Clemente lived in Barrio San Anton-Carolina, Puerto Rico. He lived on an island smaller than Connecticut with 2.6 million people. Everyone on the island lived incredibly tight. To make matters worse, in the months of July, August, September, and October there were large hurricanes. Even now the island continues to grow. Though in this land his life was better than most children.

Roberto was the youngest of four children. Even though his real passion was for baseball, he showed a promising future in track and field. His specialty events were the javelin throw and short distance running. He worked for his dad, helping him load and unload trucks at the grocery store his Dad managed.

Roberto married women named Vera Cristina Zabala in Carolina, Puerto Rico. He had three sons, Roberto Jr., Luis Roberto, and Roberto Enrique. Roberto had a dream to make a Sports Complex and offer an opportunity for children in Pittsburgh to play various sports. Since Roberto Clemente died at the age of 39, he didn't get a chance to fulfill his dream. His son Roberto Jr. recognized his dream and made the sports complex and the Roberto Clemente Foundation in his father's honor in 1993. The foundation helps children overcome obstacles, gain self-esteem, values, and learn how to have a good attitude to become good members of the community.

The first team Roberto played for was the Junios Double A ballclub. Later in his life he joined the Santurce crabbers in the Puerto Rican Winter League. In High School he signed a $60 a month contract. Then, not much later the Brooklyn Dodgers gave him a contract worth $10,000 if he would play for them when he was done high school. He honorably accepted. When he was finished High School, Roberto turned down a $30,000 contract from the Milwaukee Brewers because he wanted to keep his word and play for the Brooklyn Dodgers.

When Roberto Clemente was 20 he reached the starting lineup for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Every day he would squeeze a rubber ball to build his arm strength. Doing this gave him his biggest asset, his throwing power. Roberto was an unstable hitter for his first five seasons. After those five seasons he batted an astonishing .311 average which earned him four batting titles. His ability to run down fly balls also earned him his twelve gold gloves.

On New Years Eve Roberto organized a relief crew to take supplies to Nicaragua because of a horrific earthquake. Roberto was infuriated that supplies were not taken already. He and four others boarded a DC-7 overloaded with supplies and barely enough room for them to fit. His wife and friends insisted that he not go on the unstable plane. With his care he wanted to personally make sure that people in Nicaragua got the supplies they needed. Consequently the plane crashed off the coast of Puerto Rico. There were no survivors and Roberto's body was never found.

The world was in great shock when they found out about his death. A three-day Mourning period was declared after his death. Roberto's teammate Steve Bliss stated - "It's not just a death, It's a hero's death. A lot of athletes do wonderful things- they don't die doing it." In memory of his death the Pittsburgh Pirates wore a patch with his number 21 the season after his death. Though Roberto's pride and humanitarianism won him world admiration, he risked his life for something that didn't have to do with his country. Doing so cost him his life and broke the hearts of many people.