Who is roberto clemente

Despite his busy schedule, he made time to hold baseball clinics for kids, especially for those from low-income families. It was another way of working toward a Puerto Rico that was healthier, happier, and fairer. I believe that every human being is equal, but one has to fight hard all the time to maintain that equality.

Traditionally, cenotaphs are funerary monuments dedicated to heroes whose bodies are not recovered from the field of battle. In his life and death, Roberto lifted Puerto Rican identity to a new level in the world. But for him it was never about the awards, or the stats, or the fame.

It was always about service, making the world a better place. He was capable of bearing the huge weight of representing Puerto Rico and larger Latin America in the eyes of the white world, and he took that responsibility very seriously. Managing the San Juan Senators, the team he had carried bags for all those years ago, was a highlight of his later life. His heart was always for his community, as he showed after the World Series when he addressed Luisa and Melchor in Spanish on TV:.

The holiday season was a dark one for Latin America. On December 23, a vicious earthquake struck at the heart of Nicaragua, just two weeks after Roberto and the Senators had been there for the Amateur World Series.

The movement of the quake was horizontal, like something had woken up beneath the earth, and the cathedral clock in Managua jolted to a stop at AM. He insisted on seeing the next shipment there himself to ensure that the Somoza regime distributed the aid appropriately. It was December 30, and the flight was scheduled for the morning. Robertito, 7 years old at the time, was always nervous when his father flew and often attempted to hide his plane tickets.

As Abuela Zabala was tucking him in, he eerily told her that he thought the plane was going to crash. She told him everything would be fine, as any grandmother would. Tragically and unforeseeably, she was wrong. The plane was overloaded and crashed into the ocean immediately after takeoff. He batted better than. He led the National League in hitting four times. Remarkably, between age 30 and his final season at 37, his batting average was.

Clemente's defensive skills as a right fielder, which included a powerful throwing arm, were exceptional. No player in Major League history threw out more baserunners from the outfield than he did From left, the children are Roberto Jr. Known for his empathy and compassion, Clemente loved children. Many times, he went out of his way to help them, particularly those who were disadvantaged. He hosted many free baseball clinics. On the road, he would visit hospitals and deliver autographs to sick children.

Clemente poses with son Roberto Jr. Clemente was extremely proud of his Puerto Rican heritage. He became the first Hispanic to speak Spanish on a live network television broadcast when he thanked his parents after the final game of the World Series. Members of the military inspect the remains of the airplane Clemente was on when it crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on New Year's Eve in Embarking on a humanitarian mission, Clemente and three others perished off Puerto Rico when their overloaded DC-7 cargo plane went down shortly after takeoff.

Clemente was delivering aid to Nicaraguan earthquake survivors, including a prosthetic leg he planned to deliver to a young boy, Roberto Clemente Jr. The sudden death of the revered baseball superstar shocked the world. He was prohibited from playing in the team golf tournament, attending a welcome luncheon hosted by a local boosters club and even playing in an exhibition game in Birmingham, Alabama. As one of the few Latino ballplayers in the majors in the s, Clemente also endured slights to his Puerto Rican heritage.

After being forced to remain on the Pirates' team bus when it pulled into restaurants during spring training road trips, Clemente warned his Black teammates that he would fight them if they ate any food that their white teammates brought back to the bus. The pair met several times, and the ballplayer even hosted King at his farm in Puerto Rico.

Umpire Doug Harvey hands Roberto Clemente his th hit ball. Weeks after notching his 3,th hit in his final at-bat of the regular season, Clemente traveled with his wife, Vera, to Nicaragua, where he managed a Puerto Rican team in the world amateur baseball championships. It killed thousands and left hundreds of thousands homeless.