Roberto Clemente
When Roberto Clemente Walker was born in Carolina, Puerto Rico, on August 18, 1934, the home he entered was quite crowded. His father and mother, Don Melchor Clemente and Luisa Walker, were there with six of his siblings: Luis, Rosa, Osvaldo, Justino, Andres and Anairis. Three cousins also resided in their five-room home. Don Melchor was a sugarcane supervisor and his workers stopped by each day to eat. Roberto, also called Momen, worked in the fields too but developed an interest in baseball. He could always be found throwing and hitting something resembling a ball with either a broom handle or tree branch.
Momen competed in the sport against neighboring barrios. While in his first year at Vizcarondo High School, Roberto Marin brought him to play for the Sello Rojo softball team. He played shortstop for two years there and at sixteen, Roberto joined an amateur team, the Ferdinand Juncos. His first professional team was the Cangrejeros de Santurce of the Professional Baseball League of Puerto Rico. For the Santurce Cangrejeros Crabbers he hit .288 leading off. Soon the Brooklyn Dodgers offered him a contract, assigning him to the Triple-A International Montreal Royals. In his debut on April 1, 1954, Clemente collected two singles and hit an inside-the-park home run. He was the only Royal starter who played nine innings that day in a 12-2 victory over the Civilians.
In Vero Beach, Florida, Roberto soon met Jim Crow, noticing that players with darker skin weren’t afforded the same privileges as whites. His stellar efforts on April 1 didn’t have him playing every day. He spent a great deal of time on the bench when he wanted to play. He felt isolated and alone, away from family and subsequently not really a part of the Royals. His lack of playing time was an effort to hide Momen for some reason. There may have been racism behind this or they simply didn’t want another team to add him to their roster – he was that good. The Brooklyn franchise had no intention of grooming him for some other team since they felt the draft would see him depart.
One thing you can say for the International Baseball League (IBL): it almost merited its name. Unlike the World Series, which hasn’t had a team from Japan or Germany, teams from Canada, Cuba and the United States all competed in the IBL. Besides the Royals, the Ottawa Athletics, Toronto Maple Leafs, Rochester Red Wings, Syracuse Chiefs, Buffalo Bisons, Richmond Virginians and the Havana Sugar Kings completed the eight-team list. The IBL dated back to 1884 in comparison to the American League, which was created sixteen years later.
Roberto played only 87 games with the Royals in 1954, hitting .257. Pirate scout Clyde Sukeforth persuaded manager Max Macon that Roberto might be a good draft pick. Anyone who scouted him didn’t need to see much of Clemente to figure that he would be a star. On November 22, 1954, the Pirates drafted him. He was to play his entire career only with Pittsburgh.
Up until 1955, the Pirates had horrible seasons, usually finishing in last place, but that changed when Momen joined the team. For the year, he only hit .255 as injuries hindered his efforts. He did contribute eighteen outfield assists. Opposing players soon realized that if they tried for extra bases, he’d throw them out. Roberto would come into his own in 1960. In the opener, the Bucs whipped the Cincinnati Reds, 13-0 with Clemente going three for four while collecting five runs batted in (RBI). On Easter Sunday the Pirates won 5-0 in the first game of a doubleheader with Roberto hitting a two-run homer; in the second game Pittsburgh rallied for six runs in the bottom of the ninth to top the Reds 6-5. Clemente batted .336 in May knocking in 25 runs in 27 games. For the year, he hit .314 with sixteen round-trippers and 94 RBI. The Bucs won the pennant and now had to face the American League Champions, New York Yankees.
The Pirates started off by edging New York, 6-4, but the Yankees bounced back in the next two games with thrashings of 16-3 and 10-0. Game four saw the Pirates even up the series winning, 3-2. By this point, the Yankees had outscored Pittsburgh, 32-12. The mighty New York team of Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Yogi Berra and Bill Skowron were then beaten again in game five, 5-2. The Pirates and Yankees were headed to the steel city for game six. So was presidential candidate John F. Kennedy, who came to the Gateway Center in Pittsburgh to meet the people. At the Penn-Sheraton Hotel, JFK gave a great speech in support of civil rights. Clemente was a Kennedy man while most of his teammates favored Richard Nixon. I imagine the Yankees also thought more of Nixon that Kennedy.
As the series resumed, it didn’t seem to faze the Bronx Bombers who forced a seventh game by clubbing the Pirates, 12-0. It all came down to a one-game series. The Post-Gazette quoted Mantle and Berra, who felt they were the better team, even if somehow the Bucs did win the seventh game. These words did not escape the locker room of the Pirates. Throughout the series, Yankee manager Casey Stengel made some unusual moves with players at times. These may have cost him, but by the bottom of the eighth inning, his team led 7-4. Gino Cimoli singled and then Bill Virdon then hit a ground ball to short, which looked like a perfect double play ball, except it took a bad hop, striking Tony Kubek in the throat. Both runners were safe but Tony was on the ground in pain. Kubek was replaced and Dick Groat singled in a run. Bob Skinner then bunted the runners over to second and third, but Rocky Nelson flied out, bringing up Clemente. The star right fielder then hit what appeared to be the third out of the inning: a slow bouncer to first. However, Skowron fielded the ball but couldn’t make a play. A run scored, making it a 7-6 game. Hal Smith was the next hitter and that he was, smashing a three-run homer to left field, scoring the two runners. The Pirates now led 9-7.
Never count the New York team out and sure enough, they tied the game in the top of the ninth. In the bottom of the inning, Bill Mazeroski was the first Pittsburgh batter. He grew up in Wheeling, West Virginia, so he certainly felt at home in Pittsburgh. If the Pirates could get two men on base, Clemente would come to bat. Ralph Terry was the pitcher for the Bronx Bombers. It didn’t take long for the game and the series to end as Mazeroski slammed a home run over the left-field fence: Pittsburgh 10, New York 9. The New Yorkers had outscored the Pirates, 55-27, just proving that statistics are for losers. Clemente played a huge part in the victory, as his hustling to first in the eighth inning kept the rally alive. He also hit safely in each of the games and his arm helped the defense.
Nonetheless, the media ignored Roberto, something it had been doing for some time, despite his incredible efforts. He was sitting alone in the locker room when Courier editor Billy Nunn, Jr., came by. Clemente was packing up after his shower and mentioned using his winnings to buy a house for his mother. Nunn asked, what’s the hurry? The outfielder mentioned having to catch a plane to New York on his way home. Nunn then asked Clemente about the victory party but the latter only shrugged him off saying, I don’t like those kinds of things. As the two left, a crowd outside gathered and there’s Clemente was heard. Happiness overcame Momen and an hour later he realized that they were the best fans in the world.
On November 14, 1964, Momen married Vera Christina Zabala in San Fernando Church in Carolina. To accomplish this, the ballplayer had won over his future father-in-law and all the others, including Vera herself. He was thirty and she was twenty-three and attending the ceremony were members of both families, players, management from the Pirates, Governor Luis Muñoz Marín and a few others. Someone inquired of Roberto how he felt. Because of all his aches and pains, this was the wrong question to ask him, but Momen replied, I feel great! A friend then asked, then why don’t you spit out the gum you’re chewing? On August 17, 1965, Vera gave birth to their first son, Roberto Clemente, Jr., also called Robertito. Luis Roberto and Enrique Roberto would follow later.
In the 2005 book by David Maraniss, Clemente: The Passion And Grace Of Baseball’s Last Hero, one of the chapter titles is “Pride and Prejudice”. It is as fitting as the book title David chose. Clemente took pride in his people. My pride is my land! For I was born here! I don’t love it because it’s beautiful! I love it because it is mine! Poor or rich with burning! I want it for my own. On the diamond, he played for Puerto Rico and was disappointed when he didn’t do his best. Injuries plagued him at times, including a case of malaria and back pain from an auto accident. This kept him on the bench and people accused him of faking it.
The racism he faced also bothered him. Separate but equal meant that you couldn’t go the same hotel or restaurant as your teammates. Bringing your spouses to spring training wasn’t a good idea. If you went to a movie, you had to sit in the balcony. Edward Wachtel and his wife Lillian opened up the DeSoto Motel to accommodate the African Americans who had been shut out of the other places. Sadly, the couple received hate mail, late night phone calls and bomb threats. Other progressive businessmen couldn’t extend their hands to the blacks for the very same reason. On one occasion Roberto and Vera were shopping for furniture in New York. The baseball star had a few grand on him and wanted to see some of the furniture downstairs. The clerk said: Well, you don’t have enough money to buy that. That’s very expensive. Clemente was upset but when another salesman recognized him, matters quickly changed. Nonetheless, after speaking his mind, he and Vera left the store without making a purchase.
Clemente had a temper, which may have been as a result of the prejudice he faced. This defect in his character may only have been confined to the United States. At home with the family he seemed calm and loving. Around family, children and fans he was extremely gracious. He was always helping others. While visiting Melchor at the hospital, Clemente noticed the man in the next bed in much pain. Momen stretched his legs and did some messaging and the next day the patient said to Roberto, God bless you. His pain had disappeared. The outfielder was into chiropractics and he worked on others who suffered from back pain, even teammates. He dreamt of opening up a spa on the ocean.
Roberto had his beefs with the writers who didn’t treat him well. Manager Harry Walker acknowledged that Clemente had his critics.
He’s such a hypochondriac that that some people also think that he’s a malingerer. But no man ever gave more of himself or worked more unselfishly for the good of the team than Roberto. I know that the votes are already in for the most valuable player (MVP). I’m convinced that Clemente deserves it. Whether he gets it or not, he’s most valuable in my book.
Bill Mazeroski said, I don’t think he’s ever jaked. He just could do things when he was hurt as well as the rest of us could when we were healthy and people would see this and decide that he was dogging it.
The Pirates won another title in 1971. Even though Stargell batted .414 for the series, again Clemente hit safely in all seven games. Roger Angell of the New Yorker said the right fielder’s performance was something close to the level of absolute perfection. In the locker room as the series end, Bob Prince stated, and here with me now, the greatest right fielder in the game of baseball, Bobby, congratulations on a great world series.
Momen was a man of the people whose heroes were statesman Luis Muñoz Marín and Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. He couldn’t understand how some people had so much money while others were impoverished and struggling to get by. Roberto was a giving person. Many times he would hand over a twenty-dollar bill in exchange for a bag of coins. Then he would hand out a few coins to those in dire need. He did this every day. When traveling to different cities, he would visit sick children there. These ventures were not publicized but displayed his great love and concern for young girls and boys. One of his goals was to create a sports facility for kids to keep them off the streets and away from drugs.
Roberto wasn’t crazy about flying, despite the fact that many times he had no choice as a Pirate. He dreamt he was on a plane that crashed. He also had great difficulty sleeping. Time meant a great deal to Clemente. He had to get things done because he felt he may not live that long.
On December 23, 1972, a 6.5 on the Richter scale earthquake struck Managua, Nicaragua. It didn’t take long for Clemente to seek funds, help, food and water for the victims. A few planeloads brought some relief from Puerto Rico to the disaster, but many of the people who needed the supplies weren’t receiving them. Roberto finally decided that he had to go to Managua to handle matters. Arthur Rivera brought a DC-7 for the effort, but he couldn’t fly it so he found a pilot, Jerry Hill, who could. His experience was limited and the plane had quite a few problems, but it was loaded with luncheon meat, vegetable oil, beans, cornmeal, milk and rice, Momen joined Hill, Rivera, Francisco Matias and Angel Lozano and squeezed into the plane. It was overloaded and on the last day of 1972, it took off. It crashed not far from shore killing all on board, including Roberto.
Eighteen years before on December 31, Luisa had lost her first-born son, Luis Oquendo, when he died of a brain tumor at the age of 38. On October 14, 1972, Al Oliver and his teammates at Roberto’s birthday celebration called them together for a picture, saying, it might be the last time we’ll be together. At the time of the efforts to help those in Managua, before going to bed, Robertito fussed mom and asked his grandmother why his dad was going with relief supplies. His words were, that plane will crash.
At the memorial mass for the great Pittsburgh star at San Fernando Roman Church, thousands massed outside in the streets, while those gathering inside were handed a program with Roberto’s mom’s poem.
Only God makes man happy.
Life is nothing.
Everything ends.
Only God makes man happy.
Pitcher Steve Blass spoke in church and choked up during his reading, even though he was known for being one of the funniest guys on the Pirates.
Let this be a silent token
Of lasting friendship’s gleam
And all that we’ve left unspoken
Your pals on the Pirates team.
Willie Stargell characterized his teammate with these thoughts: He was proud. He was dedicated. Helping other people without seeking any publicity or fame. Just making sure that he could lend a hand and get the job done. A close friend of Clemente said, you could see him like a prophet.
His lifetime batting average is .317, with 3,000 hits, 240 home runs and 1,305 RBI. He was twice on World Champion teams, including winner of the World Series MVP in 1971, and elected to the All-Star team in fifteen seasons. Twelve times he won the Gold Glove Award. He was the National League MVP in 1966 and four times batting champion in the senior circuit. He won the Babe Ruth Award in 1971. His play on the diamond paved the way for many stars flooding the major leagues from south of the border. It may have been Puerto Rico initially, but today the Dominican Republic may lead in the number of players now in the states.
In a special election on March 30, 1973, Clemente, receiving 92% of the vote and became a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, only the second player not to have to wait five years after retirement. The other was Lou Gehrig. Every year the Roberto Clemente award is given to the player with outstanding skills on the field who personally engages in work in the community. In 1973, President Richard Nixon posthumously presented him the President’s Citizen’s Medal and the Roberto Walker Clemente Congressional Gold Medal. The Presidential Medal of Freedom was awarded him by President George W. Bush in July 2003. Various other awards have been given and his name adorns: stadiums, parks, schools, a bridge, statues and even a thoroughbred horse. The postal service honored him with a stamp in 1984. The Pirates retired his number, 21, although some teams still use it.