The Bridgeville Area Historical Society program for April was an interesting discussion of the life of Roberto Clemente and the museum dedicated to his memory. The presenter was a docent at the museum, Gary Euler, whom I know through his association with the Transportation Research center in Pitt’s Civil and Environmental Engineering Department. His detailed knowledge of and passion for his subject made for a very instructive evening.
It would be difficult to grow up in Pittsburgh and not be aware of Clemente’s remarkable career with the Pirates and his tragic death that terminated it much too soon. Clemente’s began his athletic career playing shortstop on a softball team in Puerto Rico when he was fifteen years old. By the age of eighteen he was playing professional baseball there. It is no surprise that his talents as a baseball player soon attracted major league scouts. It is hard to imagine a more complete player; the combination of his ability to hit, run, and throw was truly unique. He was offered signing bonuses by three teams – the Braves, Giants, and Dodgers – and selected the Dodgers, depriving him of being a team-mate of Henry Aaron or Willie Mays, two future contemporaries and close friends.
In those days teams signing bonus players were required to keep them on their major league roster or expose them to the Rule 5 draft. The Dodgers chose to assign Clemente to their Montreal farm team where he was played sparingly so he wouldn’t attract attention. Fortunately for Pirate fans, their scouts were well aware of his potential, and General Manager Branch Rickey was able to draft him in 1954 and provide him with a spot on the Pirates’ roster. Seven years later he had blossomed into a full-fledged star, winning his first (of twelve consecutive) Golden Glove for being the best fielding right fielder in the National League. His impressive performance in the Pirates’ World Championships in the 1960 and 1971 World Series were merely highlights in a remarkable career spanning seventeen years from 1955 to 1972.
One of the yardsticks fans use to evaluate baseball players is the number of hits they have achieved in their career. By the end of the 1972 season Clemente was approaching 3,000 hits, a mark achieved at that time by only ten other players (the most recent of which was Willie Mays). In the penultimate game of that season, which our speaker had attended, it appeared he had successfully reached the 3,000 hits mark when his characteristic hustle beat out an infield single. Much to everyone’s dismay, the original call of base-hit was over-ruled by the official scorer, who deemed it an error on the second baseman, who had not played it cleanly. The next day the baseball gods were smiling on Clemente when he blasted a drive into right field and hustled into second base with a double, resulting in the familiar photograph of him, standing on the base and doffing his cap in acknowledgment of the applause of the fans. Part of his legacy is being known as the “gatekeeper to the 3,000 hits club”, greeting each new super-star when he joins it.
Despite his remarkable success, Clemente’s career was filled with disappointments and unpleasant experiences. Being one of the first Black players in the National League, he was subjected to segregation, particularly in his early Dodger days at their training facility in Vero Beach, Florida. Separate dining facilities, sleeping quarters, and drinking fountains had not been part of his life in Puerto Rico. Although he eventually became fluent and articulate in English, as was illustrated by a short clip of an interview he did with Sam Nover shortly before he died, as a young man he was restricted to “Pidgin English”, frequently reported verbatim by insensitive reporters. Coupled with his inherent honesty and insistence on speaking his own mind, this created a public persona as a paranoid illiterate Hispanic, the complete opposite of the warm, intelligent human being in the Nover interview.
The real Roberto Clemente was typified by his tragic death. Following the 1972 season he spent time in Nicaragua managing a youth baseball team. His response to the December 23, 1972, earthquake there was sponsorship of a massive relief effort from his friends in Puerto Rico. When it became obvious that the Somoza regime was not cooperating in distributing supplies to victims of the earthquake, he resolved to go there himself and supervise its dissemination. The flight he boarded was “the perfect storm” – poorly maintained aircraft, overloaded beyond its capacity, bad fuel, and an incompetent flight crew. On December 31, it barely got off the airstrip, failed to gain altitude, and plunged into the ocean, taking its passengers to a watery grave.
It is tragic that this great humanitarian should die in this fashion, but, in retrospect it has given him a legacy equal to none. It reminds one of A. E. Housman’s famous poem, “To an Athlete Dying Young”. What might Roberto Clemente have achieved had he lived? We believe he planned to spend his retirement helping young Puerto Ricans hone their baseball skills and reach the major leagues; his inspiration has led other people to do this and the contribution of Latin-American players to our national pastime is indeed impressive.
The Roberto Clemente Museum, located in former Engine House 25 in Pittsburgh’s Lawrenceville neighborhood, is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving his legacy by housing an impressive collection of relevant photographs and artifacts. It does not have walk-in hours, but operates pre-scheduled tours and open house events. Reservations may be obtained from their website, https://clementemuseum.com/plan-your-visit.
Our thanks to Mr. Euler for a thoughtful presentation. Next month a Chartiers Valley High School student, Layla Asbury, will discuss “An Insight into the Relationships of Presidents and Their Wives” on Tuesday, May 28, 2024 at 7:30 pm in the Chartiers Room of the Bridgeville Volunteer Firemen.