Roberto Clemente Biography

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Roberto Clemente Have you ever herd of Roberto Clemente? He was the first Latin to play baseball. His life was amazing and historical. This is how it all started. In 1952, Roberto was spotted by a scout from the professional hardball team in Puerto Rican town of Santurce and offered a contract and signed with their club. It wasn’t before long when he caught the attention of major league scouts and in 1954 Roberto signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers who sent him to their major league team in Montreal. On November 14, 1964, he married Vera Zabala in Carolina, Puerto Rico. They had three sons On November 14, 1964, Roberto Clemente married Vera Cristina Zabala in Carolina, Puerto Rico. They had three sons: Roberto Jr., Luis Roberto…show more content…
It took a few years for him to learn the ropes in the major leagues, but by 1960 Clemente was a dominant player in professional baseball, helping lead the Pirates to win both the National League pennant and the World Series. Shortly after Clemente joined the Pirates, he chose No. 21 for his uniform. Twenty-one was the total number of letters in the name–Roberto Clemente Walker. The Pirates retired his number at the start of the 1973 season, and the right field wall at the Pirates' PNC Park is 21 feet high in honor of Clemente. Tragically, Roberto Clemente's life ended on December 31, 1972 in a plane crash while en route to Nicaragua with relief supplies for earthquake victims. Always the humanitarian, Clemente was on the plane to make sure the clothing, food and medical supplies weren't stolen, as had happened with previous flights. The rickety plane went down off the coast of San Juan shortly after takeoff, and Roberto's body was never found. For his "outstanding athletic, civic, charitable, and humanitarian contributions," Roberto Clemente was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal by the United States Congress in
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