December 31, 1999
Tonight is not only New Year’s Eve and the last night of the 20th Century, but also the 27th anniversary of Roberto Clemente’s tragic death. Though the Pittsburgh Pirate right fielder did plenty on the field to leave behind a strong legacy, it was his off-the-field contributions that touched the hearts of everyone – even if it took until the very end to realize it.
Clemente, an ever-so proud black Puerto Rican, worked tirelessly to help his people and try to erase bigotry toward his race. He once said, "I work with the rich and live among the poor." Believe him!
His death is how most people remember Clemente; that he sacrificed his own life to save the life of others. There is certainly honor and admiration in that.
Others choose to remember his cannon arm, which helped Clemente garner 12 consecutive Gold Gloves. Others choose to remember his non-scientific swing, which netted nothing but line drives to the tune of four batting titles, 12 All-Star selections, an MVP Award and exactly 3,000 hits.
"We're never going to see another Roberto Clemente," said fellow Latin Hall of Famer Juan Marichal. "I saw Roberto play right field, but nobody can play right field like Roberto Clemente. I always say there is only one Willie Mays and only one Roberto Clemente."
Others choose to remember his hustle, his desire to win and his drive to be recognized for the sake and pride of his people. Others simply choose to remember him by how he personally touched them.
For those reasons, Clemente is still recognized as one of the world's best-known and remembered humanitarians, illuminating in our heart even more as our world loses a bit of its innocence each day.
Yes, Clemente’s deeds over the final week of his life proved just how big his heart was. But it should never be forgotten that he was a giver of the first rank his entire adult life. He gave and gave and gave…and the giving began way before his last night on this earth.
In the book REMEMBER ROBERTO, teammate Willie Stargell told author Jim O’Brien, “He was a giver. He wanted to help where there was help needed. And he was easy to approach. … He was very proud of where he came from, and felt that he was representing all Puerto Ricans. He often referred to his people in public forums. That’s why his people loved him so much.”
As a matter of fact, one of his principal philosophies on life was: "Any time you have the opportunity to accomplish something for someone and you don’t, you are wasting your time on this earth".
On December 31, 1972, Clemente was aboard a plane - filled with medical aid, food and clothes – headed toward earthquake-stricken Nicaragua.
Eight days prior, an earthquake measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale struck Managua, Nicaragua, leaving a quarter-million residents homeless. Managua did indeed receive fast help. Other Latin American countries sent aid and United States President Richard Nixon ordered the Army and Air Force to organize relief efforts.
However, it was reported that Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza Debayle was stealing first aid supplies and selling them.
This did not sit well with Clemente, who decided to do something about this injustice. He cut short his holiday celebrations and set up his own relief efforts.
While many were occupied unwrapping their gifts and preparing for their New Year’s Eve party, Clemente worked with a great purpose to help collect goods for the needy in Managua.
“New Year’s Eve is one of the most sacred days in Puerto Rico, where everyone spends time with their families,” Stargell told O’Brien. “For him to do that, it was totally out of character in terms of the tradition of his country. But he said, ‘Hey, I’m very fortunate that I have my family, and I want to do something for people less fortunate.’ ”
On the last day of 1972, Clemente boarded a DC-7 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was packed with the supplies that he helped gather. His motto was, "Nobody is stealing anything from Roberto Clemente".
It took a special breed of a human being to go through with this.
Upon seeing Pirate teammate Manny Sanguillen during this crisis, Clemente asked the young catcher if he wanted to go along and help out. The youngster, who idolized Clemente, agreed but never got to the airport in time.
Shortly after taking off at 9:20 p.m., the overloaded plane and its suspended pilot had some trouble controlling its 16,000 pounds of cargo, which reportedly shifted from one side to the other. A few seconds later, one of the engines caught fire as the DC-7 plunged into the Atlantic Ocean off the island’s coast.
Clemente’s 38-year-old body was never found.
His family and friends were shocked. Sanguillen, who had found a brother in the helpful Clemente, was in complete denial. He dove into the waters searching for the body, searching for his friend, searching for the stalwart who couldn’t possibly die. Sanguillen, who refused to end his search, had to be pulled away from the waters by his friends.
Clemente's teammates in Pittsburgh, who were enjoying the New Year’s Eve party at Stargell’s house, went from a loud and festive bunch to a silenced group of men relegated to an emotional ebb. Al Oliver, another teammate whom Clemente had touched and helped, couldn’t stop crying for three days.
In the book ROBERTO CLEMENTE THE GREAT ONE, Commissioner Bowie Kuhn told author Bruce Markusen, “Well, I remember being stunned by the news. I mean, it just seemed so impossible. Clemente was immortal. He wasn’t going to die in an airplane crash. I was shocked.”
Roberto’s youngest kid, who told his father not to go on the plane since he dreamt it would crash, lost a great role model. Puerto Rico was silenced. The city of Pittsburgh had lost a hero. Major League Baseball lost a warrior. The world lost a great humanitarian.
Clemente was so much more than a baseball player. While many athletes concerned themselves with rest and relaxation during the off-season, Clemente befriended civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to discuss issues relating to minorities in society as early as 1964. They would frequently meet at Clemente’s restaurant in Carolina, Puerto Rico.
“In the quarter century since Clemente passed away, no one has really stepped in to fill the moral void – the moral role – that he held when he played the game,” journalist Marcos Breton told Markusen.
During the eulogy, Kuhn said, “He gave the term 'complete' a new meaning. He made the word 'superstar' seem inadequate. He had about him the touch of royalty."
Two weeks after the tragedy, the Hall of Fame waived the customary five-year waiting period and elected Clemente. President of Baseball Writers Association of America Joe Heiling found no reason to wait for the obvious.
“He would have been elected and inducted in his first year eligible; so why wait?”
Twenty-seven years later, the pain is still hard to swallow. Reality is still difficult to come to grips with. Clemente still lives in the hearts of many and is an international hero for all. That’s why the highest sportsmanship and community activism award in baseball bears his name - the Roberto Clemente Award.
Kuhn, a rather stoic individual who would later be criticized for not attending Hank Aaron’s home run record-breaking game, seemed especially touched and moved by Clemente’s significance, and it came out in his address that August at the Hall of Fame induction ceremonies.
“So very great was he as a player. So very great was he a leader. So very great was he a humanitarian in the cause of his fellow men. So very great was he an inspiration to the young and to all of us in baseball and throughout the world of sports. And so very great was his devotion to young people everywhere and particularly to the young people of his native island of Puerto Rico. Having said all those words, they are very inadequate to describe the real greatness of Roberto Walker Clemente.”
As you're sharing a wonderful experience tonight with family and friends, think of what Clemente gave up and sacrificed.
» Mike Attiyeh is a published baseball historian whose works have appeared in such publications as Baseball Digest, Pirate Report, Society for American Baseball Research, Birch Brook Press, and numerous web sites. Attiyeh, who has appeared as an expert guest analyst on sports radio talk shows throughout the United States, is best known nationally for breaking the story of Tony Gwynn’s blood clot in 1997.
Also by Mike Attiyeh
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» Maz Election Gives Defense Appeal
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» Pete Rose: Still Battling a Losing Cause
» More submissions
Copyright © 1999 by Mike Attiyeh. Posted July 20, 2001.
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