LOS ANGELES, CA — Every year throughout the last 21 days of December, we celebrate 21 days of Roberto Clemente because it was his number. Clemente wore the number 21 because his full name, Roberto Clemente Walker, had that many letters. Here are some more interesting facts about this giant of a man.
At Julio Vizcarrondo High School in Carolina, Puerto Rico, Clemente was a track and field star, where he threw the javelin and took part in the high jump. He was considered good enough to be part of the Puerto Rico Olympic team, later stating that throwing the javelin helped strengthen his arm, footwork, and release. But baseball was in Clemente’s blood, and even with his all-around athletic skill, he decided to focus on baseball and joined Puerto Rico’s amateur league, playing for the Ferdinand Juncos team, which represented the municipality of Juncos.
Roberto Clemente remains an icon for all Puerto Rico and Latinos around the globe for his contributions and impact on and off the field – Image Credit: The Roberto Clemente Museum
His professional career began at age 18 on October 9, 1952, when he accepted a contract from Pedrín Zorrilla with Cangrejeros de Santurce, a winter league team and franchise in the Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League (LBPPR). Brooklyn Dodgers scout Al Campanis saw Clemente’s skills, immediately recognized a super talent, and signed Roberto in 1954. Unfortunately, the Dodgers could not protect him in the ‘Rule 5’ Draft, and the Pirates swooped him up for $4,000.
On July 25, 1956, at Forbes Field, with the Pirates behind by three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning, Clemente hit a bases-clearing inside-the-park home run. It was the first and only time in modern Major League baseball history (since 1900) that a player hit a documented walk-off, inside-the-park grand slam.
In the 1960 and 1971 World Series, Clemente hit safely in all each of the seven games and was named the MVP in the 1971 Fall Classic—the first Latin American ever to be named a World Series MVP.
He also served in the United States Marine Corps Reserve from September 1958 until September 1964.
Roberto Clemente would have been 91-years-old today. Fifty two (52) years have passed since he was taken from us, and we can only imagine what amazing things he would have done for the people of the world over the past five-plus decades.
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